A Long Way From Home
by NitaPotter
Summary: The guys head east to help a fellow paramedic start a new program in her home town. Lots of action, adventure, romance and angst to follow. Better summary inside.
1. Meet and Greet

**A Long Way From Home**

Summary: Two LA county paramedics travel across the US to a small town in NC to help start a new program there. They meet the woman medic who has been working to organize the program, and then the adventure and romance begins.

AN: Yes, I know you're going to scream mary sue at me, but I looked up the definition of mary sue, and once this fic is complete, it will not fit that description. This is me living out my dream of being a paramedic back in the 70's, and meeting Johnny Gage and having him fall for me. It's a story. Read it! I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 1: The Meet and Greet

When Anita got up this morning, she could hardly contain her excitement. Today, she was to meet two of LA county's finest paramedics. This was finally her chance to help get a real medic program started here in her home town of Shelby, North Carolina. She had been working at the local fire department for a couple of years and had used her own money to train as a paramedic down in Charlotte, NC. However, upon completion of her training, and obtaining her certification, she soon realized that she would not be able to act fully in Cleveland County as a paramedic. The city and county governments didn't have money allocated to pay their fire department personnel, except the captain of the station. How were they going to pay some hot shot medic who wasn't even licensed in the county when they didn't even pay their own firemen?

The local hospital did seem to like the idea of having someone in the field, but money was always an obstacle. So, Nita just kept on trying, hoping that someday, things would get better.

After working for about three months volunteering as a medic for the fire department, the city government finally put her on the payroll. Now, she wasn't in it for the money: she just wanted to help the people who needed it, who might not make it without some knowledgeable assistance.

But of course, there was so much politics concerning her working in the station. At first, it was about her being a woman in a man's world. Then, it was the guys being jealous about her getting paid. The fire department in Shelby was on a volunteer basis, so none of them got paid, except the captain, and now, Nita.

However, after working with the guys for a few months, she finally won the respect she craved and deserved. Granted, saving the Captain's life when he had that heart attack didn't hurt the situation. And, when some of the doctor's had driven to a convention in Gastonia, they had had a really bad car crash coming back through Kings Mountain. It was at night, and Nita was out by herself, coming home from Charlotte, where she had been attending a refresher course to maintain her medic's license.

She came upon the accident about thirty minutes after it had happened, and she quickly called it in on her radio. She then went about getting all six doctors to safety, making mental notes about who was injured, and how badly. Everyone seemed to be fine, with minor cuts and bruises, except the driver, who was trapped behind the steering wheel. He had hit his head on the windshield, causing it to spider all the way across, and was bleeding heavily from the cuts on his forehead and face. She applied a pressure bandage and asked one of the other men to apply pressure to the man's forehead while she attended to the other doctor's injuries.

Finally, her crew mates arrived and together, they extricated the pinned doctor from under the steering wheel. Nita helped lay the man down on the gurney from the waiting ambulance, and was about to walk away, when the doctor reached out and grabbed her hand. She bent down to hear what he had to say.

"Nita, I really want to thank you for saving my life tonight. And, I want you to know that I'm going to help you get that medic program started here."

She squeezed his hand, and with a tear in her eye, she whispered a choked, "Thank you, Doc,", and helped load the gurney into the back of the ambulance. She climbed in after him, asking one of her crew mates to please bring her truck to the hospital to pick her up.

Let's just say that those doctors were pretty impressed by her knowledge and efficiency, and each of them decided to do their part to get that paramedic program started, because they now could see that the program worked. Thus, today Nita was going to meet with LA county's two finest paramedics, Roy DeSoto, and John Gage.

Needless to say, she was pretty excited about meeting these two guys, because deep down, she knew it might be years before Shelby could come up with enough money to properly handle a real medic program.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

It had been about a week now since the news had come down about the visit, and now, the day was here. Nita's excitement could not be contained. It was just as well that the week had been slow, because she had hardly slept a wink. Now the guys would be here any minute, and she wanted to be ready. She had run around the station, cleaning things that had never been touched before, hanging clean curtains over the windows, washing and waxing her rescue truck, making sure that the rest of the crew had done the same to their engine. Now that the day had arrived, everything was gleaming and clean.

It was around two pm when Captain Jones found Nita near his office. She had climbed up on the window ledge and was cleaning the cobwebs down. He gave her a light pat on her foot to get her attention, but she was so absorbed in her work, she never heard Cap come in. When he had touched her foot, she thought that a spider had landed on her, and she shrieked accordingly. Since the ledge where she was standing was narrow and not designed for such a jump or landing, she did the only thing she could. Upon coming down from her leap into the air, she pushed off from the wall and dove right over her captain and the two men standing with him.

Nita figured these were those two paramedics coming to help get that program started.

_Man, I'm going to get yelled at for pulling this stunt, right in front of our guests, _she thought.

A break in concentration caused her to underestimate her distance. Down she fell, right into the arms of the dark haired paramedic, much to his surprise and shock. They both hit the floor and cracked their heads with a resounding thump!

Roy couldn't help but laugh as a confused and bewildered Johnny sat up and looked over at his "attacker". However, upon seeing her sit up a little too slowly, he and Roy both were by her side in an instant. Captain Jones chuckled and drawled out, "Don't worry about her, boys. She's got the hardest noggin I know." All Roy could do was shake his head at the thought of another hard headed paramedic. Johnny held that title exclusively back at Station 51.

Finally, Nita sat up and sputtered her objections, "Get off me! I'm ok. Really, nothing to it!"

Cap looked at her crossly and decided that now was as good a time as any to scold her a little. "Why did you do that, Nita? You just scared about ten years off my life!"

"Well, hell, Cap! How was I to know you weren't some spider coming to take revenge on me for knocking down it's home?"

She looked down a bit, took a deep breathe and looked into the eyes of her captain.

"I'm really sorry about that dive, but I knew if I tried to land on that ledge, I'd have ended up with a broken ankle, foot, or worse."

She looked over at the handsome man she had knocked to the floor just moments before.

"Are you ok? Um..Mr..um..um..." _Now I'm embarrassed. How come I can't seem to put a sentence together?_

The dark haired paramedic responded, "Yes, I'm ok. And, call me Johnny." He flashed his crooked grin at her, watching her intently. At last, she finally found her voice.

"Ok, Johnny it is. I'm Nita, and I guess you already met Captain Jones."

Johnny nodded his head. "Yes, we did. Oh, this is my partner, Roy, and we are very pleased to meet you."

Roy reached down and shook Nita's hand and then Johnny helped her off the floor. She looked up at him and saw the most beautiful brown eyes she had ever seen. It seemed for a moment that the world had stopped as he returned her stare while holding her hand firmly, but tenderly. Roy couldn't help but notice the attraction between them and smiled to himself.

"Maybe this time, Junior, maybe this time," he thought to himself.

Captain Jones came over and interrupted the non-verbal exchange between them and barked out, "Ok Nita, if you three are ready, why don't you give these para-what's it's the tour of the station? Then you can show 'em your truck and supplies."

Nita's face colored briefly, and it seemed as fire shot from her eyes, and then she responded, "Ok Cap, but the word is paramedics. Got that? P A R A M E D I C S!!"

She smiled at her dense captain as he walked away, muttering under his breath about parawhosits and parawhatsits. He was an excellent fire fighter, but sometimes his command of the English language was lacking. She groaned softly, thinking to herself about how hard it had been to get this meeting arranged, and now her captain was being his normal, annoying self. Nita shook her head and put a smile on her face and turned to face the two paramedics, who were snickering softly.

"Well then, Mr. DeSoto, Mr. Gage, let's start that tour off right here..." She was interrupted before she could continue.

"Um, Nita, just call us Roy and Johnny. No need for formalities here. We're all a part of this fire fighting family, you know!" Roy smiled as Nita visibly relaxed and smiled. "Ok, great! Well, this is the apparatus bay. I'm sure it's not quite what you're used to, but it works for us. This is the engine, and this pick up is mine. It's been modified with locking panels on the sides to store my medic gear in, as well as other fire fighting equipment. I designed it myself after seeing what was out there, by looking through lots of fire fighting magazines, and the like."

As she went on with her description of her rescue squad, Roy noticed Johnny wasn't exactly paying attention. He was watching Nita and nodding at what she said, but he had a smile on his face, and a sparkle in his eyes that meant only one thing: He was in love-again!

Nita noticed Roy's gaze, and glanced quickly to notice he was watching his partner. She noticed that Johnny was looking at her with that smile _(that beautiful smile_ ) and stopped talking. She stared back into his eyes and smiled softly and took his hand into hers. Johnny leaned down and a little closer so she could whisper in his ear.

"Listen Johnny, if you keep staring at me like that, we'll never get anything done today!" She squeezed his hand and giggled softly.

Johnny blushed deeply as he continued to gaze at the woman standing before him.

"Wow!" he thought to himself. "She has such lovely long red hair, and those green eyes. How am I going to work around her without drowning in those eyes?"

After an awkward couple of seconds, Nita broke the silence. "Ok ya'll. If you'll follow me, I'll show you the rest of the station and get you some gear to use while you're here. You can stow your stuff in my truck."

She gave the guys a turnout coat, helmet and a pair of gloves to use, then they continued looking around the station. They finally ended up in the kitchen and had just poured themselves a cup of coffee when the alarm rang.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

_Hello everyone! Yep, I'm finally getting around to posting my other E! fic. Yes, I know...I'm in this story. To explain...I wanted to write a story where I could live out my fantasy of being a paramedic and actually work with Johnny and Roy. And...I wanted to be able to either fall for John, or have him fall for me. I realized that a lot of you are screaming "mary sue" right now, but I did read what a mary sue is...and I don't think this story will fall into that category. Not once it's all completely done! So, please read it and review it, and give it a chance. It's going to have lots of action, adventure, romance, and angst. I do hope you will enjoy reading it. I certainly enjoyed writing it!_

_Oh, please...no flames. If you didn't like it, it's ok! Just say in your review that you didn't like it, and leave it at that. Flames will be deleted and ignored. Nothing will deter me from posting this story!!! LOL Except a power outage!!!! LOL_

_Take care...Nita_


	2. Injuries and Frustration

Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Emergency!. It all belongs to Universal and Mark IV. Any characters other than the ones in the show are my own creation.

AN: Sentences in italics are the thoughts of the characters.

**Chapter 2**: Injuries and Frustration

One minute after the alarm had rung, Captain Jones came trotting out of his office, yelling instructions.

"Come on everyone, let's go. There's a fire at the old Bowman place down on Highway 18. Let's get on it!"

Nita's eyes lit up with excitement as she donned her turnout coat and plopped her helmet on her head, making sure to tuck her long rope of braided hair underneath it.

She called out to her new friends, "Come on you guys! Let's go!" She jumped into the driver's seat of her truck.

"All right!" Johnny yelled, with excitement shining in his eyes. "Now we can see what kind of action this place has."

Johnny jumped into the truck next to Nita and Roy hopped in last. She turned on the siren and lights and smiled. "Hang on fellows, it's gonna be a bumpy trip!"

After a fifteen minute drive down a very rough, dirt road, Nita could make out the distinct header of black smoke boiling up over the trees. She glanced over at her passengers, who were hanging on for dear life as they bounced over the ruts and potholes on the dirt road.

"Man," Johnny shouted over the blaring siren, "I thought LA had some rough roads."

Nita laughed and replied, "You ain't seen the worst of it yet...Ok, we're here. Looks like we beat the engine, as usual. Let's look around and see if anyone is hurt."

A few seconds later, Harry Bowman came running out of his three story house. He was coughing and his face was covered in streaks of soot.

"My wife, she's upstairs!" The man started coughing violently once again. He finally looked up at the two men and then noticed their shorter companion.

"Oh Nita, it's you. Thank God!" Harry fell to his knees as he continued coughing.

"Please Nita, you gotta go up and get her. Please don't let her burn up in there," the distraught man cried.

"Ok Harry. What room is she in?" Nita asked, while unlocking the panels on the truck. She dragged out the oxygen canister and smiled as Roy took it and affixed the mask over the man's face.

Harry coughed again, and raspily responded, "She's in the sewing room on the third floor, the last door on the right. Please hurry, Nita. The smoke...it was so hot...I just couldn't get up there..." Harry began to wheeze between coughs, so Roy increased the flow of the oxygen.

Nita quickly finished donning her bunker pants, buttoned up her turnout coat, and turned around to grab her air tank. She was greeted by a worried Johnny.

"Here, let's hook you up. Please be careful in there," he whispered, while helping her cinch up the straps on the tank.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. And...thanks," she said as she took off to enter the burning house. She reached the door, gave the two paramedics a wave and a thumbs up, and darted into the house.

_EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE_

Nita had to work her way into the house a lot slower than she would have liked. There was a lot of old antique furniture that had caught fire already, and the smoke was thick, even though it was downstairs. She was afraid that when she did get up the stairs and finally found Greta, it would be too late. But she still kept on, dodging falling bits of flaming debris, and then she found the staircase, already burning.

She slowly inched her way forward up the stairs to the third floor. The smoke was very thick up there, and it was hot, really hot! She finally found the door she was looking for, and pushed it open slowly. She found Greta Bowman lying on the floor, apparently overcome by the heavy smoke and intense heat. She checked for a pulse, and found that the older woman had a weak and rapid beat.

Nita started to throw Greta over her shoulder, when she felt a rush of intense heat hit her back. She turned around to see the hallway engulfed in a swirl of angry flames.

"Oh man," she groaned as she searched for a way out of the room. There was none. She then ran over and shut the door to the sewing room, praying it would buy her the few precious minutes she would need. Nita then ran to the window and attempted to raise it, but it refused to budge. Years of paint had sealed it shut.

"Damn!" her mind screamed out. She grabbed the nearest chair and used it to break out the window. She could feel the heat intensifying behind her. She knew she didn't have much time before the room flashed.

Suddenly, a ladder appeared in the open window. Nita knew that her crew mates had arrived to help. She positioned Greta's body so that Jim Greene, who had climbed the ladder and was waiting in the window, could take the woman to safety.

Nita screamed out, "Here! Take Mrs. Bowman. Get her out of here. The room is going to flash any second!"

By now, she was gasping for air herself. The smoke was very thick now, and the alarm on her air tank had sounded a few minutes ago. She knew she was out of air, so she pulled her air mask off and leaned out of the window, hoping to breathe in some fresh air to clear her head. She heard Johnny and Roy yelling at her to climb down the ladder, but for some reason, she felt tired and lethargic.

"Must have got up too early," she thought, as a debilitating wave of dizziness washed over her. It was by the grace of God that she had the presence of mind to leap out of the window a split second before the whole upper part of the house blew straight up into the air! The last thing Nita saw was boards and two by fours raining down on her. As one jagged board crashed into her head, her last thought was, "Man, Cap's gonna kill me for this..." She never heard her face mask crack, or even felt the debris that literally buried her on the roof ledge.

The crew screamed in terror when they realized that their friend wasn't on the ladder or safely on the ground. Roy looked up and saw Nita's air tank under a pile of debris. She was still on the roof ledge but now she was buried under the rubble from the explosion.

"Johnny," he yelled, "there she is, under that section of the wall!"

"I see her, Roy, already on my way!" Johnny had already flown up that ladder before Cap could turn and give an order to his crew.

"Wow!" he thought, "these two work so well together. Damn, I sure hope Nita's alright." Cap continued to watch as the crew finished putting out the last of the flames and began clean up procedures.

_EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE_

Johnny hurriedly threw the boards off of Nita's body, desperate to make sure that she was still alive. As he uncovered her face, he saw how a broken two by four had crashed end first, right into her face mask, causing it to shatter. Remarkably, she was not bleeding, but he knew she was going to have a bad bruise.

Finally, Johnny was able to get his fingers on her neck and let the breath out he didn't know he was holding. He started shouting down to his partner, "She's got a pulse, Roy! She's unconscious, no external cuts, but she's having a little trouble breathing. Her face mask is shattered, and her air hose is ripped. Looks like she's been breathing smoke for the last few minutes."

Roy quickly jotted down the information as quickly as his partner had called them out. It was lucky that the woman was even alive, after having jumped out that window, and the upstairs blowing up on her heels.

Johnny yelled to his best friend that he was ready to bring Nita down from the roof. He had finally cleared all the debris off of her body. Once he had determined that she had no broken bones, he picked her up in the traditional fireman's carry, and climbed down the ladder as quickly as he could. He could see Captain Jones and the rest of the crew waiting anxiously for some word about their comrade and friend. Roy walked to his partner and helped him lay Nita's battered body along side Greta Bowman, the victim she had rescued earlier.

Just then, Greta stirred and opened her eyes.

"Harry,_ cough cough,_ Harry? Where are you?"

Her husband was by her side in an instant. "I'm right here, honey. You're ok now. Nita got here in time to get you out. She saved your life," he paused to kiss his wife of 35 years, and wipe away her tears. "I just hope she's going to be ok."

Greta glanced over to see the unconscious form of her rescuer lying next to her. She and her husband said a prayer for Nita's quick recovery.

One of the first things that Roy and Johnny noticed when they first saw Nita in action was her rapport with the victims. She seemed to know almost everyone, and they knew her. This explained why Greta and Harry were so shaken up because of Nita's injury. They watched along with the others from the station with bated breath, while the two paramedics administered first aid to their fallen comrade.

Roy frowned as he took her BP. "Too low," he muttered to himself, while an anxious Johnny took her pulse. "Too fast and weak," he muttered as he and Roy looked up at each other, reading each others expressions. It was Johnny who broke the silence.

"Where's that ambulance? We can't treat her here! Her BP is too low! She could have a head injury or internal bleeding!" Roy laid a hand on his partner's shoulder, offering him his support and a tiny measure of calm.

Captain Jones replied, "Guys, ambulance just got dispatched. It'll be 45 minutes until it gets here." The man could see the anger radiating off of the dark haired man, his hands still holding Nita's head steady.

Johnny looked up angrily, frustration furrowed deep in his face and eyes. "Nita doesn't have 45 minutes!" He looked around wildly, when his eyes came to rest on the woman's squad.

"Hey Roy?" He called to his partner. "Why don't we transport her on her truck? Here's a back board, and a stokes. We can package her up and you can drive us to the hospital."

He looked at his partner, pleading with his eyes, and they both glanced over at the captain. Captain Jones looked down at Nita's still form lying on the ground, and then looked back at the two para what it's. He made his decision.

"Ok, do it guys, and please take care of her. She's all we got. She's real special..." Cap choked out something else that Roy couldn't quite make out, but then realized that the man was just as upset as they were. Here they were, again, with all that great knowledge to help save lives, and this time, they even had the equipment to use right in front of them, but no license to use it. Roy shook his head in frustration. There had to be a way to allow paramedics to use the equipment of other paramedics, especially in an emergency, whether they were in their own jurisdiction or not. He personally vowed to find a way to make that happen, some day!

The guys settled into paramedic mode and began to prepare Nita to be transported. Johnny grabbed the back board off the truck and laid it down beside themselves. He also grabbed the stokes, so that they could put Nita, who would be laying on the back board, inside of it, and then they would tie it to the top of the pick up.

They rolled her body gently, and took off her turnout coat, bunker pants. Her useless face mask and air hose had already been discarded once Nita had been carried down from the roof. Roy glanced at the shattered face mask, with it's barely attached air hose, and wondered how on earth she didn't have any cuts on her face,

He looked back over at his partner. Johnny was gently checking every inch of Nita's arms, legs, head, neck, and torso, searching for the tell-tale signs of broken bones and internal bleeding. He smiled slightly once he was finished, and informed his partner that he didn't find any broken bones or any signs of internal bleeding. Both paramedics surmised that her life had been spared because she leapt out of that window at the last second. The only injuries that Johnny could find were from the impact from that upended two by four that cracked her mask.

Everyone could see the bruises starting to form on her left arm and the left side of her face. However, she was still having a bit of trouble breathing, and was still on oxygen. Roy had attached an oxygen mask on Nita's face the moment Johnny had laid her down, but for some unknown reason, she was still unconscious, which had the two paramedics worried. Nita had taken some knocks on this job, but until now, she had always gotten up and walked away from it. To see her lying on the ground so still had her Captain and crew mates pretty worried.

Johnny and Roy gently rolled Nita's body over and placed her on a back board. Johnny tenderly strapped on a C-collar and assisted his partner in placing the back board into the stokes. After securing the board inside the stokes, they lifted her up and onto the back of the truck, and secured the stokes with the strapping they had found in one of the compartments. Roy hopped into the cab and cranked up Nita's truck. Johnny yelled out, "Ok Roy, hurry!"

Captain Jones explained how to get to Cleveland Memorial from where they were, and then they took off. Cap looked on at the quickly vanishing truck and shook his head. He hated seeing his crew getting hurt, especially Nita. She was such an asset to the fire department, and even more important, she was a good friend. He silently prayed while he and the rest of the crew finished the clean up at the scene. Once that was completed, and the ambulance had picked up the Bowmans, they would take the engine and go straight to the emergency room to check on their fallen comrade.

_EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE_

_Hello everyone! I hope you have enjoyed reading this chapter of the story. I wanted to thank everyone who has read the story, and a very special thanks goes out to those of you who have taken the time to leave a review. I really do appreciate the reviews!! _

_Now that you've read this chapter, please take a few seconds and review it for me! It won't take but a few seconds out of your day, and I will really be grateful for your input!!_

_Take care everyone...see ya next Monday. KMG-365 Nita_


	3. Recovery and Discoveries

Chapter 3: Recovery and Discoveries

At first, Nita couldn't figure out where she was. The wind was blowing so very hard and that loud siren!

_Man, I've got an awful headache. _

She opened her eyes a bit and looked up to find one of those paramedics bending over her.

_Which one is this? Oh yea, Johnny Gage. Wonder why he looks so concerned? _

She felt Johnny's hand around her wrist, and as she felt the familiar tightness of the blood pressure cuff on her arm, she groaned softly. Johnny reached down to hold her head steady, while speaking encouragingly to his patient.

"Just hold on, Nita. We're almost there, I think."

He looked around the unfamiliar countryside and saw a hospital sign fly by. At that moment, Roy yelled out the back window, "I think we should be there in about ten minutes. How's she doing?" He inquired from his partner.

"She's coming around, Roy. Her BP is up a little, her pulse is stronger, and her pupils are equal and reactive." Johnny turned his attention back to his patient.

"Nita, can you hear me?"

Nita groaned again and opened her eyes slowly. She focused in on the handsome man looking down at her with concern written all over his face.

"Johnny...what happened? Ow!! My head is splitting!"

Nita suddenly strained against the restraints holding her on the backboard and in the stokes. She looked around wildly and became agitated.

"Where's Greta? Where's the Bowman's? Are they all right?"

Johnny grabbed her shoulders and gently pushed her back down. He used his most soothing tone to calm the frustrated medic.

"It's ok, Nita. The Bowman's are fine. We're a little more concerned about you right now. Do you remember what happened?"

Johnny was in full paramedic mode now, watching her for any signs of a head injury.

Nita looked up at him for a few seconds before answering.

_Wow! Those eyes...I would love to see those eyes everyday. _

"Um...we were at the Bowman house. I was...um...upstairs with Greta. My air tank buzzer went off. I couldn't get the victim down the stairs because of the fire. Um...then I closed the door, and tried to open the window, and had to break it out. I knew that the room was fixing to flash over...Um...Jim was there in the window on

the ladder...He took Greta from me."

She paused just a moment to think and then flushed, embarrassed to continue, but knowing that Johnny needed to know that she was alright, she began again.

"I sort of remember feeling a little dizzy and tired. And, I do remember an explosion. I, um, I guess I got caught up in it, huh?" She shook her head slightly, still feeling a bit embarrassed at having been so stupid as to get caught in an explosion when she could have avoided it. Then she looked back up at the now smiling paramedic.

Johnny grinned at her, knowing just how she felt. He was, however, quite sure that she was ok, and well on her way to recovery. By this time, Roy had managed to get them all to the hospital on Grover Street. Captain Jones had given him some pretty accurate directions.

The two paramedics were greeted at the ER doors by a doctor and nurse, who were standing by a gurney. Dr. Carter saw the look of surprise on Roy's face and said, "We knew you were coming. Captain Jones called us over a land line. You two must be the paramedics from LA. I'm Dr. Numas Carter, and this is my nurse, Amy Potter. I can see that Nita is in good hands. How is she doing? Oh, I see you're awake now! How are you feeling, Nita?"

"I'd feel a lot better if you'd let me off this backboard and back on my feet!" She tried to get up again, but was pushed back by two pairs of hands.

"Now Nita," Roy chastised, "you know the drill. The doc here has to check you out. You were unconscious for about 25 minutes."

Nita groaned softly, then smiled. "Ok," she relented. "I guess I am a little dizzy, and my head sure does hurt."

Roy and Johnny helped the nurse roll the gurney into the first open exam room, and was quickly shooed out by Amy. She quickly pointed to the waiting room that was, luckily, right outside the door.

While Dr. Carter and Amy were checking out their reluctant patient, the two paramedics sat down on the couch. Johnny looked over at his friend and whispered softly, "Hey Roy? You think she'll be ok? I mean...she took quite a fall, plus her air tank ran out."

Roy looked over at his friend, noticing just how truly concerned he was about the woman they had just brought in. The thought crossed his mind, _How can he get so attached to someone he just met a few hours ago?_

"Johnny, I think she's a lot like you, with nine lives and a hard head. She's tough. I'm sure she'll be ok."

Johnny grinned for a moment, and then decided to speak from his heart.

"Roy, what do you think...do you think she likes me? She's so beautiful...that long red hair, I wonder how long it is, and those lovely green eyes. Man oh man..."

Johnny trailed off as he glanced back over at the closed door of Exam room 2.

Roy looked at his partner, shook his head slightly and smiled. He leaned over and put his arm around Johnny's shoulder briefly. "Johnny, I have a feeling she does like you. I could tell by the way she was looking at you at the station. But, don't rush it, Junior. If it's meant to be, it will happen."

Dr. Carter walked up to the now laughing paramedics. Johnny quickly sobered and asked, "How's Nita? Is she ok?"

The doctor smiled warmly and replied, "I had no idea she had so many friends. The entire station is here waiting for news as well. Now, to answer your question, Yes, Nita is fine. She has some mild smoke inhalation, and a slight concussion. I want to keep her here overnight, just for observation, but barring any complications, she can go home in the morning."

Roy smiled as his partner jumped up to shake the doctor's hand. They were suddenly aware of several footfalls, and looked up to see their new friends from the station walking down the hall, with Captain Jones leading the way.

Johnny called out to the crew, "Hi Cap! Nita is fine. The doc here just gave us the good news."

As the crew got to them, Cap looked at the two paramedics and then quickly and firmly shook both their hands. He took a deep breath, and began to thank them.

"I don't know how to thank you boys," he began. "If you hadn't been there...I don't want to think about it." The older man visibly shuddered, but quickly regained his composure. "Just do me one favor..."

"Sure Cap. What can we do for you?" Roy asked hesitantly.

Cap answered with determination. "I want that paramedical program here in Shelby. Someway, somehow."

Johnny and Roy looked at each other, and back at Captain Jones, and then at the rest of the crew, thinking carefully before making a reply.

Then Roy began, stating as directly as he could, "We'll do everything we can to help you start that program. But...we need to have a meeting with the brass, and you know that's where the problems are going to be."

Jim spoke up and replied, "Yea, we know all about the brass. They almost wouldn't even let Nita have the truck for her medic supplies. She fought with them for three months until she got it. She's very stubborn and very determined to get what she feels is the right thing. I'm really glad ya'll are here to help her achieve this goal."

"Here, here!" the rest of the crew chimed in.

Finally Cap said, "Ok guys, let's go home and plan a little welcome home breakfast for our girl. Who wants to pick her up?"

Johnny looked at Roy, who nodded his approval, and spoke up.

"Cap, if it's ok with you all, Roy and I will pick her up and bring her over."

"Sounds great fellas. See ya'll in the morning."

"Good night all, and thanks for such an exciting day." Roy walked out with Jim and the Captain.

Johnny looked over to see one of the nurses who had attended to Nita, and asked, "Um, Nurse Potter, what room is Miss Cook in?"

"Oh, she's in room 151. She's probably sleeping now, but I'm sure it'll be all right for you to look in on her for a minute. Just don't stay too long." The nurse smiled coyly at Johnny, but to no avail. He only wanted to see Nita.

Roy returned from escorting their new friends out just in time to see Johnny headed down the hall. He caught up with his friend just as Johnny found room 151.

"Is this Nita's room?" Roy asked.

"Yea," Johnny breathed, as he quietly opened the door.

The two men looked into Nita's room and saw that she was sleeping. They noticed right away the visible bruise on the left side of her face, and on her left arm. She looked like she had been beaten by her worst enemy. Johnny gasped softly when he saw her. Roy smiled at his partner. He had never seen him so taken with any woman before. It touched him to see how Johnny hovered by her bedside to watch over her.

As Johnny reached down and brushed a stray lock of hair from her face, Nita woke up. She looked up into the man's eyes and was surprised to find them filled with concern.

Johnny squeezed her hand and spoke softly, "I'm so glad you're awake. I was worried about you."

Nita looked around the room and back at Johnny before she finally spoke up.

"Hey guys!" Her voice sounded a bit raspy, so Johnny quickly offered a cup of water, which she drank. "What brings ya'll here on such a beautiful day?"

She tried to laugh, but was suddenly seized by a fit of coughing. Johnny quickly raised the head of her bed up higher so she could breathe easier, while Roy adjusted her oxygen flow. After a couple of minutes, she began to breathe easier. She looked up at both of the men who were standing now at either side of her bed, concern etched in their foreheads and shining in their eyes.

"Come on guys," she started again, "I'm ok. I just ate a little smoke and blown up a little. No big deal. You know how it is."

Roy looked over at his partner, who was still holding Nita's hand, and sighed. Then he said, "Yes, I...we do know how it is. You could have been seriously injured up there, or worse. This is a hard job and..." Roy never got to complete his sentence as an angry Nita interrupted him.

"Don't even say it, Roy DeSoto. Because I'm a woman, I shouldn't be fighting fires and doing rescue work. That's what you wanted to say, isn't it? Well, I've got news for you! You think those guys at the station can do a better job than me? Where there's a difficult rescue to do, I do it. When some kid is down a storm drain lost, I go down to find him. When there's a house fire, and the building is coming down, and the parents left the baby upstairs in the crib, I go get him. Not those guys, me! I've had to work hard everyday since the beginning, and I still do. I help these people here in my town, and they know me, and trust me, and...and...just because..."

Her voice cracked and she couldn't speak for a moment. Johnny quickly gave her another glass of water, and grabbed a wet cloth to wash the stray tears and sweat from her face, tears that she wasn't even aware had fallen.

Roy quickly sat at the foot of Nita's bed, and laid his hand on her leg, hoping to calm her down. Johnny took hold of her hand again and squeezed it gently, to let her know that he was still there.

Then Roy replied, "Nita, it's ok. I'm sorry I sounded like I was putting you down. That's not what I meant. I've seen what you do here, and I've seen how you act with your patients, and how they act with you. I know you can do this job better than a lot of the guys back in LA. We're just concerned about you."

Johnny jumped in, trying to get his partner out of the fix he had created. "Really, Nita, Roy didn't mean to upset you. We're both just worried about you, that's all." He was using his best soothing techniques to get the girl to calm down and think, and not cause her breathing to escalate again. It seemed to be working.

Both Johnny and Roy had surmised that Nita had had to fight her way into the fire department. This was most definitely a sore subject with her.

Roy smiled sheepishly and apologized again, "I'm sorry, Nita. I really didn't mean to upset you."

She regarded the two men standing over her. She realized that she had overreacted and made her own apology.

"Look guys, I guess I'm a little off kilter right now. It's just that I've had to constantly prove myself for the longest time. Everyone was watching me and waiting for me to fail, mess up and not pull my weight. I always had to be the bravest, the coolest, always jumping in to pull off the scariest rescues, the most dangerous rescues. I guess I'm a little defensive. Forgive me?"

Nita smiled sweetly at Roy and then looked up at Johnny. _Wow! He's still holding my hand! What's happening between us? I just met him this afternoon..._

The guys looked at each other and then back at Nita. "You're forgiven. We're sorry; we shouldn't have tried to make you out to be an ordinary girl. You are definitely not ordinary."

Roy looked at Johnny with a confused expression. Johnny was looking at Nita and smiling his trademark smile. Roy noticed that she was also watching Johnny with the same intensity. He thought, _Wow! These two have enough electricity between them to power all of LA. Ok, Junior, don't mess this up._

Johnny suddenly blushed and stammered, "I didn't mean that exactly like it sounded."

Nita smiled and responded, "It's alright, Johnny. I know what you meant."

She suddenly yawned and found it very difficult to keep her eyes open. Roy noticed this and spoke up. "Johnny, let's get out of here and let Nita rest. She's had a hard day."

"Ok, Roy, in a minute. Nita, we'll pick you up..." Johnny stopped and smiled. Nita was fast asleep. He pulled her blanket up over her and tucked her in, brushed the hair out of her eyes, and then he and Roy quietly walked to the back of the room, near the door.

"Do you want to go back to the hotel?" Roy asked, knowing what Johnny was going to say.

"No, I want to stay here. I want to be here when she wakes up." He glanced over to Nita's sleeping form, and smiled softly. "You know, we could go get a bite to eat, get her a change of clothing from the squad. Then, when you pick us up tomorrow, we'll be ready."

Roy smiled and agreed. "Alright Johnny. Let's go."


	4. Nightmares, Breakfast, and Planning

**Chapter 4: Nightmares, Breakfast, and Planning**

A couple of hours later, a freshly showered Johnny snuck back into Nita's now darkened room. She was asleep, and was laying on her side, curled up in a ball. The blanket had slipped off the bed, so Johnny picked it up and covered her still form with it. He stood watching her, and couldn't resist taking her hand to feel her pulse, which he found to be beating strong and regular. He even counted her respirations just to prove to himself that she was really ok. The paramedic in him couldn't help being worried about the woman he was quickly falling for.

After he was satisfied, Johnny grabbed a couple of chairs and pushed them together to form a crude bed. He knew he would be more comfortable back at the hotel, but he wanted, no, _needed_, to stay and watch over his new friend. He sat down next to Nita's bed and quickly dozed off. He had been asleep for a couple of hours when Dr, Carter came in to check on his patient. He noticed Johnny curled up in the chairs, holding Nita's hand, both of them sleeping soundly. The doctor laughed quietly, and smiled. He quickly checked her pulse, and quietly exited the room.

As many times as Nita had been hurt on the job, she usually spent her time recuperating alone. Her mom and dad had divorced when she was three, and her sister had married and moved away. Nita lived at home with her mother, but her mom worked a lot, and just couldn't get time off to come sit with her. She understood this and never complained, but deep down, she was lonely.

_eeeeeeeeeeeee_

Sometime around four in the morning, Johnny felt someone squeezing his hand hard. He awoke with a start to find Nita in the throes of a terrific nightmare. She was shaking violently, and sweating profusely. Her moans had started as whimpers, but now had intensified into yells. Johnny quickly jumped up and sat on the bed beside her.

"Nita, wake up! Nita! Wake up! It's ok. You're safe now!"

She sat straight up in the bed and screamed, "Get him out of here! Hurry up!"

She threw her hands up over her head, as if she were trying to protect herself, and screamed again, "Look out! It's caving in!"

Her breaths were coming in short gasps as she collapsed back against Johnny's chest, as he had moved behind her to get his arms around her. He held her tightly while trying to calm her, "Nita! Wake up! You're in the hospital. You're ok!"

Nita suddenly opened her eyes and gasped. She looked around and finally realized where she was. Then she suddenly realized that someone was holding her.

_Wow! This feels so right to be in his arms. How could I feel like this with him? We only just met yesterday?_

By this time, a nurse stuck her head in the door to check on her patient. She thought she had heard someone cry out.

"What are you doing in here?" the nurse crossly asked Johnny.

He replied quickly, "Nita had a bad dream and woke up. I was just making sure she knew where she was, and was coherent, which she is. Is Dr. Carter here yet?"

The nurse replied, "He'll be in around seven. How are you feeling, Miss Cook?"

"I'm fine now, thanks to Johnny. I was having a pretty bad nightmare, and he woke me up from it. I feel great now."

She looked up at Johnny and smiled broadly at him. She could almost see him melting into his chair and thought it was because of her.

"All right, Miss Cook. I'll send in the doctor when he arrives." The nurse looked at Johnny and gave him a wink and strutted out of the room. He didn't even give her a second glance.

Johnny looked over at Nita, smiled and asked, "How are you feeling, Nita?" His brown eyes watched her intently as she yawned and ran her fingers through her hair.

"I'm fine now, Johnny. Did you sleep here all night? There's never anyone here when I have a nightmare."

Johnny smiled softly. "Yeah, I did."

Nita looked up at the man who was suddenly becoming important to her. She took a deep breath and held Johnny's hand firmly in hers.

"I can't believe you sat here all night with me. In the last two years, no one has ever sat with me overnight, or any other time, for that matter. Why would you do that? I mean, I'm happy that you did. Actually, I'm flattered that you did, but..."

Johnny suddenly leaned over and kissed her softly but passionately on her lips. For a moment, she forgot where she was, and what she was saying. She drew back and looked into his eyes briefly, before throwing her arms around his neck. She returned his kiss, timidly at first, but with a growing passion that suddenly flared hotter than any structure fire either of them has ever encountered.

As sudden as it began, it was over, as Nita realized what was happening and drew back. Johnny looked at her shyly and whispered, "Is everything all right? Did I upset you?"

She looked at the handsome man before her and heard her voice replying, "Of course not, Johnny. I was just...um..just..."

Johnny once again leaned over and kissed her lips, tenderly this time. She felt as if she were floating in the clouds. As his lips parted from hers, she felt giddy, and blushed deeply. He saw her flushed skin and laughed softly.

_She looks so beautiful lying there..._

He crawled up beside Nita and cradled her in his arms, and then they fell asleep, blissfully with no nightmares.

_eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee_

About 6:45 am, Roy arrived at Nita's room and knocked softly. Not hearing a reply, he peeked in and chuckled to himself.

_Gee Gage, you sure do work fast!_

He was about to leave when Johnny stirred and looked up at his best friend. He whispered for Roy to wait outside for him, and quietly slid out of the bed, hoping he wouldn't wake up the woman who was still sleeping peacefully.

He joined Roy outside of Nita's room, and found the man chuckling and shaking his head.

"How do you do that?" He asked. "I mean, you barely know her and you're sleeping in her bed?"

Johnny yawned and laughed softly. "Roy, we didn't do anything. She had a really bad nightmare, and I had to get behind her to hold her arms down. She was really fighting; I can't believe how strong she is."

Roy thought to himself, _Oh boy, another dreamer. Those two really fit good together._

Johnny continued, "and then we fell asleep. Oh yea, I, um, I did kind of kiss her."

Roy tried to look shocked. "You what?" he tried to exclaim without laughing, without much success.

"Yea, then she kissed me back. I tell ya, Roy, I've never felt anything like that before in my whole life. I mean, WOW!"

Johnny stopped taking and peeked in the room, and found its occupant now stirring awake. He and Roy walked back into the room.

Nita yawned and stretched sleepily and opened her eyes. She looked up at Roy, who was looking very amused, and then at Johnny, who had sat down beside her on the bed. She looked up at Johnny and smiled softly.

"How'd you sleep, Nita?" Johnny asked.

"Actually, pretty good, except for that nightmare. Thanks for waking me up."

Johnny put a protective arm around her shoulders and gave her a hug. Roy looked on as Nita melted into Johnny's embrace. He smiled softly as he remembered falling in love with his wife, Joanne

Everyone looked up as the door opened briskly. Dr. Carter came striding into the room, ready for his first patient of the day.

"Well, Nita, I see you already have visitors. How are you feeling?"

She replied enthusiastically, "I feel great. No headache, no dizziness, but my left arm is a little sore. I'm hungry, too. Can we go now?"

The two paramedics grinned as Nita kept begging Dr. Carter to let her go home. How many times had they done the same thing at Rampart? Finally, after Dr. Carter finished his exam, he said gruffly, "Now young lady, no more getting blown up. I don't want to see you in here for at least two weeks. Oh yes, I'll clear you to go back to work tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Nita exclaimed. She clearly wanted to go back to work today.

Dr. Carter grinned at the guys, and then continued his gruff expression. "Oh, would you like to stay here until then?"

Nita quickly conceded. "Ok, you win, tomorrow. Where's my clothes?"

Roy tossed her a sack with a change of clothes in it. Johnny looked at Roy and said, "We'll wait outside for you."

Nita watched as the three men left her room. She sighed deeply as she thought about that kiss from Johnny. It touched her soul like no one ever had. How could this total stranger make her feel so happy, so content...

She shook off her daydreaming and quickly got dressed. Then she skillfully upbraided her long hair, and combed out the tangles, then brushed it to make it flowing and shiny. She wanted to go spend the day with this intriguing man that had spent the night with her.

Nita opened the door and found Johnny and Roy standing across the hall. Johnny's face lit up when he watched her walk out of the room. He hadn't seen her with her hair down yet, and was amazed at how long and thick it was; it was almost to her waist. He looked at her and walked over beside her. He offered her his hand, and she smiled and clasped it in hers, squeezing it softly. They both walked out ahead of Roy to the front desk and quickly signed her release papers. Then all three of them walked out of Cleveland Memorial Hospital.

Nita looked around briefly and said, "How did my car get here?"

Roy blushed slightly and replied, "Well, after I brought Johnny back over here last night, I took your truck back to the station. Cap handed me the keys to your car. He said you wouldn't mind."

"It's ok, Roy. I don't mind at all. And thanks for picking me up today."

Johnny opened the door to the back seat of Nita's '69 convertible Mustang. It was an older car, but she had kept it clean and in perfect running order. She got into her car and then said in mock anger, "What's this? I don't get to drive my own car?"

Of course, she couldn't keep up the pretense for more than a few seconds before she burst out laughing. Once the guys realized that she was pulling their legs, they burst out laughing as well. Nita then graciously climbed into the backseat of her car, and Johnny jumped in beside her. Roy hopped into the driver's seat and turned the key. The engine purred to life.

Johnny said with a twinkle in his eyes, "Home, James!"

Roy smiled and replied, "With pleasure, sir!"

Nita sat back and giggled freely. She had never seen two partners as close as these guys were. She laughed out loud as Roy lowered the top of her convertible. She suddenly felt like she was flying. Her long hair was blowing wildly in the wind. Johnny seized the moment to put a protective arm around the girl's shoulders, just to keep her in the car, he rationalized. Roy glanced back in the rear view mirror just in time to see Nita settle back into Johnny's arms. Her eyes were closed, and she had a soft smile on her face. Roy smiled and continued the drive back to the station.

_eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee_

At the station, Captain Jones and crew were getting ready for Nita's arrival. The station was clean and orderly. Jim and Cap prepared a big breakfast of Nita's favorites: grits, scrambled eggs, homemade sausage, cream gravy, and homemade buttermilk biscuits.

Finally around 8:30, they saw Nita's red mustang coming down Post Road. Everyone was ready for this reunion. Nita hardly ever got hurt like this; plus, Cap wanted to impress his guests. He chuckled softly to himself as he remembered how Nita had stared at the tall dark haired paramedic, and how he couldn't seem to take his eyes off of her. Nita wasn't the most beautiful woman, but when she flashed her smile, well, she was pretty hard to resist.

Roy pulled the car into the parking area next to the station. Johnny hopped out and then helped Nita out of the back seat.

"Thanks," she said quietly. "I guess I'm a little more sore than I thought."

Johnny smiled and replied, "It's my pleasure. I'm just glad you were able to get up at all this morning. That was quite an explosion yesterday."

_Yea, I know, _she thought to herself.

By this time, they had entered the building, and by not seeing anyone outside, or in the apparatus bay, she figured the crew was in the kitchen.

She walked into the kitchen to a round of applause and cheers that caused her to blush deeply and grin. Jim presented her with a tall glass of sweetened iced tea, her favorite beverage. Cap came forward with a plate full of grits, eggs, and sausage.

Nita smiled and replied, "Thanks, guys. Man, maybe I should get blown up more often to get this kind of reception."

"No, no!" exclaimed the crew. "Once was enough. I don't think our hearts could take the stress again."

Johnny and Roy looked on as Nita thanked the crew for standing by her and then she remembered the two men who saved her life.

"Roy, Johnny, come join us. Believe me, there is plenty!"

Johnny replied with enthusiasm, "You don't have to tell me twice. I'm starving."

Roy slapped his partner on the back and laughed. "You're always starving, Johnny."

Everyone sat down and ate the old fashioned breakfast. The guys from LA had never had grits, and homemade sausage, nor had they ever had homemade cream gravy, and they savored every bit in their plates, even going back for seconds. Once everyone had eaten their fill, the station crew quickly put the leftovers in containers, and placed them in the fridge, and went about quickly cleaning the kitchen. Once it was done, Nita, Johnny, and Roy sat down to discuss how to get that program started.

Roy and Johnny both knew it was going to be tough trying to get the city government to put the funding in place for training and supplies. Shelby was a small town, the city itself only covered 12 to 15 square miles. But the fire department had to cover the entire county, which was over 75 square miles.

After Roy looked at the map that Nita had prepared for them, he knew that more than likely, they weren't going to make the program work here. He looked over at his partner and noticed that he had come to the same realization. The paramedics silently agreed to discuss other options with the committee in case the paramedic program was canned.

Nita seemed to realize from their discussion and from looking at the map that she might be fighting a losing battle. It pained her deeply to have to face the fact that her dreams might end up remaining just that, her dreams.

The guys seemed to notice how quiet and sad their new friend had become, so Johnny placed his hand softly over Nita's for a moment, and gave it a gentle squeeze, smiling that crooked smile. She looked up at him, her eyes just a little too bright, and sighed.

"I knew this was going to be tough, but I didn't realize just how tough. I did all this research to prove to them how badly we needed this program here, that people didn't have to die needlessly if we had trained personnel in the field."

She wiped a tear away and sat up straighter. "Well, there has to be other options. I know of several guys and at least two other women who would love to join this medic program, but only if they can act. The first time I had my medic box stocked and I had to watch this woman die right in front of me because the doc wouldn't let me give her a shot of epi..."

Johnny couldn't stand to hear another word. He moved over and put his arm around Nita's shoulder.

"Don't worry. Roy and I have actually been right where you are now. Back when Roy and I first became partners, we had a fully stocked squad, and we were fully trained, but because the paramedic bill hadn't passed yet, we had to go to Rampart and pick up a nurse to go with us. We weren't allowed to use the equipment, the drugs, nothing."

Johnny paused momentarily, reliving that horrible day when they had picked up Dixie and then even she had been injured, leaving the two paramedics with three victims in desperate need of immediate medical care.

Roy looked at Johnny, knowing what his partner was feeling right then. That day had been so horrifying to them both, and the added stress from realizing that they could have blown all of their hard work had one of those patients died...Roy shook his head to rid himself of those dark thoughts. Everything had turned out fine; better than fine. Dixie had recovered quickly because of their refusal to obey the rules that day, and the other couple were still alive and doing well.

Roy sighed deeply, then put a hand on Johnny's shoulder, giving him a reassuring squeeze. Johnny smiled at his partner, then looked back over at Nita. She had picked up already how intuitive these guys were with each other. She found it to be a most comforting trait for two men to share.

Suddenly, Roy exclaimed, "Oh! I've got it! Listen, why not ask Brackett to make a trip out east and come present the findings that he did when he went before the committee back in 1972?"

Johnny grinned at Roy's sudden brainstorm, and readily agreed. "Why not, indeed? Let's call him as soon as we can, Roy! That's a great idea! Maybe Dr. Early and Dix could send an affidavit with Brackett. It couldn't hurt!"

Nita grinned at the two paramedics, not quite wanting to believe what she just heard. It seemed that there might actually be a way to get her dream program started after all.

"Thanks, guys! You have no idea how much this means to me. But, I'm really starting to get tired. Can we wrap this up? I'd like to invite you both to come stay out at my house for the remainder of your time here. I have plenty of room, and since my mom is out of town for the next month, I've got the place to myself. What do you say?" Nita looked at Johnny for a brief moment, hoping he would want to come spend some private time with her.

Roy nodded his consent and Johnny quickly gave him a brotherly one armed hug. Then the three paramedics quickly cleaned up their area, packed their notes and maps in the briefcase that Nita had presented earlier, and said their goodbyes to the Captain and the rest of the crew.

Cap walked them to Nita's car, and gave her a surprise. "Nita, I want you to take a few days off. If something really bad happens, I'll call you, but for now, take care of our guests. Go hiking up in those mountains you're so fond of, and get some rest. It will do you some good."

Nita responded with, "Thanks, Cap. I'm going to take you up on your offer!"

Then, the three friends hopped into the car, and took off toward the guy's hotel. The whole trip was spent listening to Nita explaining about her veggie garden, the creek she would go swimming in, the nice, quiet acreage with nothing to bother them but deer, rabbits, foxes, and a few raccoons. Johnny couldn't help but think this was just what the doctor ordered.

_eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee_

_Hello everyone! I truly hope you all enjoyed this new chapter from me! I did want to say this to you...I realize that Nita is doing a few things that aren't exactly allowed in a real fire department setting. But...honestly, I never gave it all much thought before I was pointed out to me. So...rather than having to go back and rewrite the story again, just go with it. It is a story and it's my fantasy!!! LOL_

_Please leave me a review...I love to hear what you think!!! You don't even need an account to leave one...just follow the instructions...I'll know who you are!!!_

_Hugs to everyone who has read up to now! See you next Monday!!!_

_Nita_


	5. Surprises, Kittens, and Romance

**Chapter 5: Surprises, Kittens, and Romance**

When they entered the hotel room, there was a large suitcase lying in the middle of the bed. Even more evident was a very familiar female voice softly singing in the shower. Roy smiled and rushed into the bathroom and exclaimed, "Joanne! What are you doing here?"

"Aren't you glad to see me?" She cooed back as she drew her husband of 13 years into the shower, even though he was fully clothed.

"Um, honey," he whispered in his wife's ear, "Johnny is waiting with a friend out in the room."

"Oh my gosh! I completely forgot about Johnny! Wait a minute, what friend?"

About that time, she and Roy heard Johnny call out in a playful voice, "Hey Roy, who's in the shower? Better not let Joanne find out about it!"

"I heard that, Johnny Gage," Joanne called out while Roy was passionately kissing her.

"Hey Roy," Johnny yelled back, "me and Nita will wait for you and Joanne outside. I've got my stuff already, and most of yours. Nita says you and Joanne can come out to the house as well and save your money."

Roy replied between kisses from his wife and wiping water out of his face, "Ok Johnny. Give us about 15 minutes."

"Okay Roy," laughed Nita, as Johnny grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the door.

"Let's go for a walk while we're waiting for them," Johnny begged.

"I would love to, Johnny," Nita replied back. She just couldn't believe that he wanted to spend so much time with her.

Now, at this hotel, there was a small picnic area with a very small nature trail to stretch your legs on after traveling for a long time. Johnny had seen this area earlier, and quickly led Nita over to the picnic table. He grabbed her in his arms and sat her up on the edge of the table. He kept his arms wrapped around her and pulled her close.

She responded by opening her legs and wrapping them around Johnny's hips. He looked deeply into her eyes (_those beautiful eyes_) and soon his lips found hers. He tasted her mouth hungrily, but gently. She responded eagerly as she opened her mouth wider to let his tongue enter her mouth. Finally, Johnny eased her body down to the table, where he lay partially on top of her.

Nita could feel his manhood, hard and proud, poking at her inner thigh. The thought of making passionate love to this man made her groan with lusty pleasure.

They were still busy exploring each others attributes when Roy walked around the corner of the hotel He saw his partner and his new love lying on the picnic table making out. He cleared his throat loudly to get their attention and watched with amusement as Johnny practically fell off the table in his haste to get up.

Nita stood up and looked at Roy, smiled and waved at him, then looked at Johnny, who had a sheepish blush on his face. She laughed out loud and stood up, straightened her clothes, and reached a hand out to help Johnny to his feet. As she was bent over, she whispered in his ear, "I think we got busted!"

"I think you're right," he whispered back, smiling after getting to his feet. He took Nita's hand and they walked back to the hotel, just in time to see Roy and Joanne putting the rest of the luggage into the trunk of the car.

Nita blushed deeply as she noticed Roy grinning broadly as his partner. She had already figured out that Roy and Johnny were like brothers, even closer than that. She found it remarkable that they seemed to know what the other was thinking, without either of them having to speak. She secretly hoped that she would have an opportunity to work with them some day.

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Roy and Joanne got into the back seat and Johnny got in the passenger side of the car, after helping Nita into the driver's seat. She called out, "Ok ya'll, let's go to my house and let you guys enjoy the country side for a while. There's a creek where we can go swimming, and maybe we can have a cook out later."

Johnny smiled and nodded his approval while Roy and Joanne voiced their consent. But then, Johnny leaned over and whispered in Nita's ear, "But I would really like to have you all to myself." She smiled back and responded, "Well, I can arrange that," and she leaned over quickly and planted a quick kiss on his cheek.

Johnny sat back and grinned his famous grim and looked back at his partner and his wife. They were grinning back at him, for they has also seen that kiss and heard what he had said. Johnny blushed again, but instantly felt relief when he looked into his partner's eyes briefly. That look of understanding, of support, and acceptance was there. He smiled as he sat back in his seat and relaxed as Nita drove them to her house.

Roy leaned over slightly and asked his wife, "Honey, I'm really happy to see you, but how did you get here?"

She replied, "Well, I was playing bingo with some of the ladies a couple of nights ago, and I won the jackpot. So, I figured I could leave the kids with the neighbors for a while, and come out and spend the time with you! I hope you don't mind."

Roy kissed his wife and said, "Of course not, hon. I'm really happy to see you. You might find some of the meetings we'll be attending a bit boring, but, I'm really glad to see you."

His wife kissed his back; "I'm sure I won't mind the meetings." She looked back at Johnny and Nita, and then said, "Tell me about this girl, hon. Johnny seems so taken by her."

"Well," he began, "as you can see, she's about 5'4", very muscular for her height, and extremely agile. We've already seen her in action at a fire. She's very good with her patients; she really cares about them, and about what she's doing. Oh, as you can see, she has that long red hair that Johnny has just flipped out over, and she has green eyes. When Johnny sees her smile, he melts into a puddle. She and Johnny have so much in common. It's like they were destined to meet. He likes to bowl, and so does she. He loves to hike, and she loves it, too. Even when she got hurt the other day, it was like watching Johnny. She has nightmares just like him."

"Wow," Joanne exclaimed. "They do seem to admire each other, and it's obvious that they like each other. I hope that he's finally found his soul mate, like we are."

Roy smiled and put his arm around his wife. "So do I, hon, so do I."

Johnny was listening quietly as his partner was talking about his new love. He smiled shyly as her turned his head to gaze at Nita, who was busy driving them all to her home.

_eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee_

At last, her house came into view, and her guests all gasped out loud, and were quickly stunned into silence. Nita drove around to give them all a quick tour. Most of the land had grown up into a thick woodsy area, with a large creek running through it. There were wildflowers growing on the banks of the creek, and the area closest to the house had been dug out and landscaped as a swimming area. There was an old ran shackled barn out back with a substantial area devoted for a garden.

Then they pulled up to the front of the house. It was a one story building, with a basement, which doubled as a storm cellar. There was a wrap around porch, complete with a swing and lots furniture to enjoy those balmy summer nights.

Once Nita had pulled to a stop and shut off the engine, she realized how quiet it had become. Nervously, she snuck a glance at her passengers to see them all admiring the house and grounds. She sat for a few moments before quietly breaking the silence.

"Um, I really appreciate this, I really do, but it's not all that great!" She blushed as Johnny leaned over and kissed her on her cheek, again.

"It's beautiful, Nita," he replied for everyone. "It's absolutely perfect."

She quietly wiped away a stray tear as she whispered a choked thanks, and got out of the car. She quickly glanced around the property, and thought silently how much she wished her grandparents would have lived to see how wisely she has spent part of her inheritance.

Johnny noticed the sad look in her eyes and came up beside her, silently placing an understanding hand on her shoulder.

Nita started, and then sheepishly asked, "Um, sorry. What did you say, Johnny?"

He replied, "Nothing, Nita. We just noticed how quiet you got, so we were concerned."

Roy and Joanne had quietly made their way to standwith both of them, equally concerned about their new friend's change of mood.

"It's ok, ya'll. It's just...it's just that my grandparents died in order for me to have such a great place to live, that's all. It just makes me sad." Nita shook her head and put a smile back on her face.

"Come on, let's get you guys settled in, and seeing as how it's so nice out, we can sit out here on the porch, or ya'll can take a walk, or whatever you want to do."

"Sounds great Nita. Hey, Johnny, help me with the luggage and then we'll decide what to do," Roy said to partner.

"Sure thing, Roy," came the response.

Nita turned to Joanne, took the woman's arm and guided her into the house and into the living room. Joanne's eyes grew wide as she drank in the homey, comfortable room. There was a fireplace with a rug in front of it, surrounded by a sofa, and three recliners. Further over, there was another sofa and a loveseat. Then there was the dining area. The table was oak, stained a deep dark brown, with six chairs. There was a very old china cabinet on one wall, and beyond that, a door that led to the basement.

Joanne was shaken from her perusal by the men's footsteps coming into the room. Roy broke the silence with, "Whoa! This is just beautiful, Nita. How do you find the time to take care of all of this?"

Nita chuckled and replied, "Thanks, but it's not as great as you think. There's dust in the hidden places, and most of the time, it's not this clean. Mom and I cleaned up really well before she left. I haven't been here much in the last few days to mess it up, so I haven't had a chance to dirty it up! Here, let me show you where to put your stuff."

She led her guests down a hallway and stopped at the first door. "Joanne, Roy, you may have this room. It's Mom's room, and yes, she knows someone will be staying here. The sheets are clean, and the bath is fully stocked, but if you need something that's not there, let me know."

She left the couple in their room to unpack and settle in, and then led Johnny to the next door.

"Johnny, you may have this room. It rarely gets used, and it's not very spacious, but I think you'll be just fine. The bath is right across from your room. My room is at the end of the hall, it has a private bath, like my mom's room. I'll be in my room, so you can come down there when you get settled in."

Johnny smiled and said, "Okay, thank you, Nita."

She smiled at the dark haired man standing near the guest bed, and then turned and walked out of the room. She walked into her own room and was amused to see her cat, Princess, stretched out across her bed, sleeping soundly. Nita sat down gently on her bed and began petting her cat, talking softly to the now awake animal.

"Now Princess, we're going to have house guests for a while. You need to be on your best behavior. Ok?"

"Meow! Purr...Purr...," came the anticipated reply, all the while enjoying the sound of her master's voice. Nita gave her cat a gentle squeeze and a kiss on her head, then stood up. She hadn't noticed that someone watching her.

Johnny cleared his throat and chuckled as Nita jumped. "Oh, you're all done?" she asked.

Johnny replied, "Yea, all done. How about that walk? I love the outdoors and I really would love to see your garden and that creek."

"I'd love to show you around, Johnny. Should we ask your partner and his wife if they'd like to join us?"

"Well, I guess we should, or at least tell them where we're going."

They both walked down the hall to the DeSotos' room, and Nita knocked on the door. Joanne quickly answered.

"Um, Joanne, Johnny and I were going to take a walk, and we wanted to know if you guys would like to go with us?"

The woman smiled and pointed to the bed. Roy was lying there, fast asleep.

"No, I think I'll join my husband for a nap. You go on ahead."

Nita smiled and nodded her head. "Ok, if you need anything, the kitchen and the house are at your disposal. Just help yourself."

"Thanks, Nita. Go on, you two. Have fun." With that, Joanne shut the door, and quickly climbed back into the bed with her husband. She quickly fell asleep.

_eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee_

The new couple walked out onto the front porch, and Johnny paused a moment to breathe in the fresh air. He looked out across the horizon and realized he could see the Appalachian Mountains.

"What a view! This is so beautiful. How long have you lived here?" Johnny asked.

"I've lived here since I was three years old. I grew up here, with my mom, my sister, and my mom's parents. After my grandparents passed on, I used some of my inheritance to finish fixing the place up the way grandpa started it." She paused for a moment, her eyes shining brightly. Johnny reached his arms around her and she leaned into his embrace.

"I'm sorry," she finally sighed. "I guess I'm a little more shook up by my mishap yesterday that I thought."

Johnny smiled softly and said, "Hey it's okay, we all have days like that. You have nothing to be sorry for."

She stood back and smiled. She saw the honesty in his eyes and relaxed. "How about that walk?"

They walked around the front yard, down one side of the house, toward the barn, and even into the garden. There were no farm animals in the barn, but several pieces of old rusty farming equipment, and other such debris were sitting around.

Among the equipment were several cats and kittens laying around. Some of them came up to greet the young woman, and she couldn't resist picking up a couple of the kittens. Johnny noticed how gentle she was with them, and even though she did say that most of the cats were wild, they did trust her enough to come to her if she called them or even came into the barn.

After giving the two kittens a kiss, she placed them back with their mom, and also petted the mom's head as well.

"This one is called Tiger. She's a good mom. She has such beautiful kittens," Nita commented. Johnny was busy playing with another cat that had come up and rubbed against his legs. She laughed and said, "Ok. I see Jinx has found you. He's the dad, I think. It looks like he likes you, Johnny."

He looked up and smiled, and after giving Jinx another scratch on his head, he and Nita left the barn. He noticed that she seemed a little tired, and her eyelids were drooping slightly.

"Um, Nita, how about we head back up to the house? I'm a bit beat, and we could sit in that porch swing and talk for a while."

She looked at him gratefully for a second and agreed. The strolled back up to the house, and after pouring themselves a glass of sweet tea, they sat down in the porch swing, with Johnny supplying the leg power, while Nita curled up next to him. He wrapped his arm around her and was surprised but elated when she snuggled closer. The talked about her childhood, his childhood, even some of their fears about firefighting and rescue work.

After about an hour of chatting, they both dozed off, with the wind providing a gentle push for the swing, rocking them slowly.

_eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee_

A couple of hours later, the mid-afternoon found the DeSotos awaking from a refreshing nap. Roy kissed his wife and then sat up.

"I wonder what Johnny and Nita have been up to while we've been sleeping?" he mused.

Joanne smiled knowingly and replied, "Knowing your partner, there's no telling. He does seem really attached to her already, and it's pretty obvious that she likes him, too."

"Yea, they do seem to like each other a lot. It was like...love at first sight, literally. I mean, I've heard about it, but I've never seen it happen, until now. The thing is, what is he going to do when it's time for us to go back to LA, and he has to leave her here?" Roy trailed off, a frown forming on his face. Joanne sighed and gave her husband a kiss. She stood up and walked over to the bedroom door, then paused and turned back slightly.

"Roy, if it's meant to be, they will find a way to be together. Don't worry just yet."

Roy grinned and joined his wife at the door. "You're right, hon. Let's just see what happens in the next few days."

They walked out of the bedroom and noticed the front door standing open. Joanne headed toward the kitchen to get them a drink, and Roy went to look out the front door. He quickly saw his partner fast asleep on the porch swing, with Nita curled up in his lap. Roy chuckled softly, and turned to go back inside, but then noticed that his partner's eyes had opened. Johnny tried to move slightly, but in doing so, awakened Nita. She uncurled herself and sat up, smiling at the two men.

"How did you guys sleep? I didn't realize just how tired I was! You know what? I'm hungry. It looks like we missed lunch, so why don't we have an early dinner, and then we can just relax for the night. What do you guys think?" Nita looked at her new friends, and upon seeing their eyes light up, she grinned and jumped up.

"I can see that's a yes!! Ok. Let's go in the kitchen and see what's down so I can cook."

Noticing that there wasn't any meat laid out to cook, she ran to the deep freeze to see if there was something there that wouldn't take long to thaw out. She found some hamburger patties, and grabbed them. She was shutting the door of the freezer when she noticed the chicken pieces that had been packaged up earlier that month. She grabbed those as well, knowing she could fix that for dinner the next evening.

Dinner that night was rather simple, but great. They had hamburger steaks, fresh picked green beans with butter, some stewed yellow squash with onions, and a watermelon for dessert. Then they retired to the front porch to allow the food to digest, after they had all cleaned up the kitchen and put the leftovers away.

The new friends sat out on the porch for a few hours, just talking and enjoying the cool country air. It was quite a change from the big city, which seemed such a long way from where they were now. Johnny looked up into the darkening sky, noticed how clear the air was, and how bright the stars seemed. He could see some of the constellations that his grandfather had showed him when he was a boy, and turned to show Nita. He then noticed that she was looking up at the sky as well, so he snuggled closer to her and took her hand and pointed to the sky, showing her what he could see.

Roy looked at his partner, noticing the soft smile he wore, how his eyes were bright, and how his features had relaxed for the first time in months. He knew that even though they were a long way from home, it wouldn't take much persuading to consider moving here permanently.

About 9:30, Nita yawned loudly, much to her embarrassment. Johnny took her hand and escorted her to her room, making sure she was tucked in and settled for the night. He leaned down and gave her a soft kiss, which she returned.

"Good night, Johnny. Would you, um, make sure that Roy and Joanne are ok, and please lock the front and back doors?"

He smiled and nodded his head. "Sure will, Nita. Get some sleep. Hopefully we can take that trip up to the mountains in the morning."

He turned off the light, and had to move slightly to allow Princess to waltz into the room. She jumped up on the bed to snuggle close to her master, and Nita's arm snaked down to wrap her kitty up in a one armed hug. Johnny smiled and quietly closed the door. He quickly walked to the back door, locked it securely, and then did the same to the front door. He bade good night to his best friend and his wife, and then turned in himself. He fell asleep that night grinning, thinking about how wonderful that trip to the mountains was going to be, and how much he was falling for this woman who had literally fell into his lap.

_eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee_

_Hello everyone! I do hope you are all enjoying this story! A huge thanks goes out to Erin who has been trying to find my errors...thanks!!!_

_Another big thanks goes to everyone who has taken the time to review. I really do appreciate you taking the time to do that! I am truly overwhelmed with the positive response I've received from this story so far! _

_And, thanks to everyone who has read the story so far! Please...do take a moment to review. It doesn't take long, and you do not need an account to do so! _

_Take care everyone. The next chapter will be up on Monday, and it promises to have some action...seeing as how Johnny, Nita and gang will be in the mountains, and who knows what will happen!! Hugs to all!!!_

_Nita_


	6. Mountains, Lightning, Supper

Chapter 6: Mountains, Lightning, Supper

The next morning, Nita awoke to the smell of fresh brewed coffee, and the tantalizing aroma of bacon frying. She sat up quickly and pulled on her robe, and after running a brush through her hair, she sleepily made her way to the kitchen. She was greeted by her house guests with a cup of coffee.

"Good morning, Nita," Johnny said with a smile. "How'd you sleep?"

"Great. Thanks, Johnny. How about ya'll, any problems with it being too quiet out here?" Nita asked her new friends.

Joanne was the first to answer. "Absolutely not! I haven't slept that good in years. The fresh air, that soft bed, I've never felt so relaxed. Oh, I hope you don't mind, but since I'm used to Roy having to get up early to go to the station, I just managed to get up before he did this morning, and I started the coffee and breakfast."

Nita smiled gratefully at the older woman and nodded her head. "Joanne, as far as I'm concerned, this is your home for the duration. Help yourself to anything you see in the kitchen, and if it's not in here or the deep freeze, it will more than likely be in the garden."

Nita looked over at the stove and saw that Joanne had fried the bacon, made a pot of grits that looked perfect, and had just started to scramble some eggs. Johnny decided to shoo the young woman out of her own kitchen and led her to the table. Nita saw that it had been set up for four, with a pot of coffee, sugar, and cream sitting in the middle of the table. She smiled to herself, thinking how lucky she was to have met such wonderful people.

Joanne quickly brought over a large pan of freshly scrambled eggs and served them to everyone. Roy had brought over the pot of grits and set them down beside Nita's plate, so she could get what she wanted, and turned around to grab the plate of toast, and placed it on the table as well.

Nita looked up and smiled, gratitude was shining in her eyes. She softly asked if any of them minded if she said prayer over breakfast. With her guests shaking their head no, everyone clasped hands, while Nita gave thanks for the food they were about to eat, for guidance in the paramedic proposal, and a special thanks for new friends. With a quartet of amens, the friends quickly devoured the hot breakfast.

_**eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee**_

Once the breakfast dishes were loaded in the dishwasher, and everything was cleaned up, they all sat down in the living room to drink the rest of their coffee and plan out their day. Nita decided to take her new friends up in the mountains for the day, and make a day of it, provided one of those stray thunderstorms didn't ruin her plans.

It was at that moment when Joanne asked her hostess a question. "Nita, how do you keep up with all this and work at the fire department? It must be a load of work to do all this and not have help."

"Well," Nita began to explain, "my mom lives here too, but she's in Florida right now with my sister and her husband. Mom always goes down there this time of year to visit, so she makes sure that we've picked most everything we can from the garden that's ready, and we can it, or freeze it for our winter stock. Then she and I clean the house thoroughly, and make sure that the grass gets cut, and other things. She leaves for her vacation and I pop in when I have time to make sure the animals are fed and that everything is still running properly. Plus, while I'm working, we have neighbors that come pick veggies out of the garden, and if I'm working a lot, and can't get here, they will even come cut the grass for me, and feed the cats out in the barn. It actually works out well for me and for mom. Hm, for that matter, it works out for the neighbors, too!" Nita laughed with her friends for a moment.

Roy and Johnny looked over at each other, nodded slightly, and then continued drinking their coffee. Nita noticed this non verbal exchange and raised an eyebrow at the both of them, the wheels in her brain turning furiously, trying to figure it all out.

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore and suddenly burst out with, "Ok, Johnny and Roy. Out with it! How do you guys seem to know what each other are thinking without talking? I've seen it several times now, and I want to know how you do it." She was smiling as she ranted, but at the same time, she was intensely curious. Roy and Johnny smiled broadly.

Roy decided to answer for both of them. "Well, you see, we've been partners for a long time, I'd guess about 4 years now. I guess...well...we just sort of developed it somehow. We work together everyday; we trust each other with our lives. I guess it's like you and Jim. I noticed that you two seem to work together well, and you also seem to have some eye contact discussions."

Nita thought for a moment and finally agreed. "I guess you're right, I've just never thought about it."

The group sat in silence for a few moments, then Nita jumped up and grabbed all the empty coffee cups and took them to the kitchen, and loaded them in the dishwasher, and then turned it on.

She then asked, "Are you all ready to leave? We're going up to the mountains today, so you'll need a light jacket, just in case, a good pair of hiking shoes, and if you don't have a light back pack, I've got a few I can loan you! How about it? Ready to go?"

The gang from LA looked at each other and all at once said, "Yes!" Nita grinned and ushered them all out to her car, and after making sure she had a basket for food and an ice chest for drinks in the trunk, along with a couple of blankets, she jumped into the car herself, and off they drove.

She made two stops on her way out of town; one was at the gas station, to fill up on gas and fill the ice chest with ice and drinks. Then, she stopped at her favorite place to get picnic foods, and loaded her basket with sandwiches, veggies, and some fresh fruit. She also made sure to get some fresh coffee so that they could brew a pot from the clean mountain water.

A few minutes later, they were off to the mountains, driving straight up highway 74. The country towns were soon left behind as the mountains rose up before the travelers. They drove through several small towns, Forest City, Spindale, Ruth and Pumpkin Center, all on the way to Lake Lure. It only took about an hour and a half to get there, but the drive was incredible. The visitors were in awe of the beautiful scenery. Poor Joanne got car sick a couple of times, but after Nita pulled off at a road side stand and got some ginger root for the woman to chew on, she was much better.

"How did you know about using ginger as a natural remedy for motion sickness? Seems more like something Johnny would have thought of," Roy inquired with great interest.

"Well, the Cherokee Indians use herbs to fight disease and heal all kinds of sickness up here in these parts. Since I'm related to them by blood on my grandfather's side, I guess I tried to read up on it as much as I could. I even took a class about the local Cherokee tribe when I was in high school."

As soon as she mentioned that she had Indian blood running through her veins, Johnny and Roy both smiled at each other, as Johnny could hardly contain his obvious excitement. Roy explained to a puzzled Nita, "You see, Johnny is half Lakota."

Johnny was already daydreaming about how perfect this all was. No wonder he was attracted to the woman sitting beside him. Her inner spirit had called to him, as his did to her.

Suddenly, Johnny noticed that they were pulling off the side of the road. He looked out across the horizon and felt for sure he could see half way back to Los Angeles. The view was breathtaking. No fog or smoke or low hanging clouds were visible to obscure the simply spectacular scene.

Roy and Joanne got out of the car and carefully walked over to the edge of the cliff. They stood on the edge of the embankment, arms wrapped around each other, taking in the smog-free view. They stood that way for several minutes, oblivious to the occasional car that passed by, or the sudden silence and lack of other voices. Then Roy's internal alarm buzzed, and he suddenly realized that his partner and hostess were nowhere in sight. Joanne jumped abruptly when Roy's powerful voice rang out, "Johnny? JOHNNY?! Where are you?"

He was even more alarmed when he heard his partner's voice rise up from below him.

"Oh my God," Roy thought, "he fell down the mountain and took Nita with him."

But as quickly as his fear rose, it melted away as he heard Nita's voice urging Johnny on up the side of the mountain. By the time the couple reached the top of the ridge, Johnny was breathless.

"How do you climb up and down these trails out here so easily?" he puffed out while trying to catch his breath.

"Oh, my grandpa used to bring me and my sister up here all the time when we were kids. I guess I got used to it. I love it up here, the air's clean, it's cool, and sometimes the animals will come right up to you."

Roy, now relieved to see his partner and new friend all in one piece, spoke up and replied, "This is a beautiful place, guys, but please, don't head off down a trail without telling someone first. You really scared me."

"You're right, Roy. We should have said we were going to walk down that trail. I'm sorry. I know better than that." Nita replied, properly reprimanded.

"Nita, you're forgiven. Now, let's get to this park you were telling us about, and let's go on that hike!" Roy smiled and replied back, making sure that Nita knew she was indeed forgiven.

Nita smiled and cheered. "Ok, let's go! Off to Price Park!" She looked a little puzzled as she saw Johnny make a very pained face.

He looked at Roy and said, "Brice Park? Did she say Brice Park? Aghhhhhhhh!! Who would name a park after that guy?"

Nita laughed and corrected him. "No, Johnny, it's Price Park, with a P, not a B. Who's Brice, anyway?"

Johnny grinned and said, "You mean, what's a Brice?"

Thoroughly confused Nita looked at Roy for explanation. And so began the long explanation of the infamous Craig Brice; from Roy's first meeting when Johnny had been hit by that car, until the present. Nita laughed quietly and made herself a silent threat: _Wait until I meet this guy. He'll never know what hit him._

Even more ironic, Roy, Joanne, and Johnny were all thinking the same thing. Roy whispered to Johnny, "Brice had better watch out for her," and the two of them had an extended laugh that only the best of friends could share and understand.

_**eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee**_

Another couple hours of driving brought the travelers to the Blue Ridge Parkway, and finally at the entrance to Price Park. This was a beautiful park that was not full of visitors at any particular time of year. Nita liked this a lot, as she frequently needed solitude from the politics of rescue work. The actual work was fun and challenging, even rewarding, but when the brass complained about not having money to create the paramedic program, or to replace their old, outdated equipment, well, that was what wore her nerves to a frazzle. Once a month, she drove up to the park to go hiking and unwind.

Upon entering the park, they traveled down a long driveway that was lined with trees. On one side of the drive, a small, landscaped creek ran merrily along, with lots of large flat rocks lying around for jumping and sitting. The driveway split off into several areas for parking and camping. Most notable was the way the creek had been carved out to wind in around the various trees and rocks and other large objects. It was fun watching children trying to walk on the rocks bordering the creek without getting their shoes wet. Johnny and Roy were no exception. But of course, Joanne and Nita had to show the boys how it was done.

Exploring the front of the park now behind them, the car secured in Nita's favorite parking place, and backpacks in place, the gang made their way to one of the many entrances to the beautiful and breathtaking Appalachian Trail.

It wasn't hardly five minutes into the hike when the trail abruptly narrowed down to a well traveled path, complete with gnarled roots, jutting rocks tinged with quartz, and wildflower hiding up on the slopes.

Nita knew this trail well, and was quick to point out as many interesting things as she could. It wasn't long, however, before Johnny's instincts took over, and he was actually seeing things that even she had missed on her previous hikes.

Roy and Joanne walked behind, hand in hand, and watched the two new lovers as they grew closer and closer with each passing moment. Every few feet, Johnny and Nita would stop and kiss each other while holding hands and drinking in the beauty all around them.

_**eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee**_

It was around noon when the group came upon a path that led to the river. The newcomers were left speechless and breathless at the soothing sight of water cascading over the rocks in several places, and the large flat rocks that were perfect to set up a camp on, or sunbathe, have a picnic, or a host of other activities. It was here that Nita announced that they had arrived at one of her favorite spots to get away from it all. Sure enough, there wasn't anyone else around, and they couldn't here anything but the wind, birds, and the water flowing over the waterfall.

The gang laid out the blankets. While the guys gathered some rocks and wood for a fire, Nita and Joanne laid out the food from the food pack. Soon they were all sitting down on the blanket, enjoying a sumptuous lunch of thick roast beef sandwiches, sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, and sweet onions from the garden, some wild berries, apples, and a pot of fresh brewed coffee made with the water from the river.

After the long hike they had just been on, they all had ravenous appetites, and soon, all of the food was gone, except a few crusts of bread, that Nita took down to the river's edge. Johnny walked with her and when he saw what she was doing, couldn't hide the grin on his face. There were several large fish that had stuck their heads up out of the water and were being fed by the woman. She would make sure each piece was torn into smaller bites, and then she gave each fish a choice morsel. Johnny gently placed his hand on her back to let her know that he was there, and then helped her finish feeding the fish.

"I always give them a bit of something when I come up here. I know there's plenty for them to eat in the water, but, those same 4 fish seem to keep coming back every time. So, I make sure to give them a bite or two from whatever I'm eating. I don't even know what kind of fish they are."

Johnny laughed softly, took Nita's hand in his, and helped her stand. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deeply, leaving Nita hanging on to him just to keep from falling down: her knees almost gave way beneath her from that kiss.

Together, hand in hand, they walked back over to the blanket and sat down, and Johnny poured them all a fresh cup of coffee. After sipping from his cup, Roy exclaimed with a sigh, "This is the best coffee ever. That mountain water really makes the difference." The rest of the group nodded their agreement, and continued to enjoy the fresh coffee in silence, listening to the soothing sounds of the river.

The gang rested for a while, and chatted about life in LA and how different things were out here in the country. Nita sleepily remarked that she wasn't sure if she'd like it on the west coast because of the earthquakes, but she'd like to visit someday. This comment made Johnny grin for a few seconds, something that didn't go unnoticed by his partner. The group quieted and settled back to listen to a couple of birds that had landed close by and were singing loudly.

It was a little after two in the afternoon when the gang began to stir. After eating a large lunch, they had all taken a nap, being lulled to sleep by the sounds of the river. Just as she opened her eyes, a cold breeze caught Nita's hair for a moment and lifted it up. She abruptly sat up wide awake and alert.

"We'd better get going, guys. Looks like we might be in for a thunderstorm."

Joanne laughed and said, "How could you possibly know that? There isn't a cloud in the sky."

"Do you feel that cold breeze?" Nita asked as she stood up and started gathering their things together. By the time we get back to the car, we'll be very lucky if we're not drenched. Look up at the sky."

Nita pointed up to the previously clear sky. It was now rapidly filling with heavy cumulus clouds. Joanne jumped up and said, "Well, you heard her. Let's get moving. I hate getting rained on." Nita grinned at the woman and mouthed a silent, 'me too', and together, they had their picnic site completely cleared and the fire totally extinguished. They quickly began the hike back to the parking lot and the relative safety of Nita's car.

Every few minutes, a cold breeze shot through the trees to remind them of the impending storm. There were even a few rumbles of thunder that had began softly as first, but were growing louder and louder, and were now being accompanied by brief flashes of lightning.

It took the group about twenty five minutes to finally reach the car, and just as they were about to unload their gear, a blinding flash of lightning lit up the sky, causing Joanne to shriek. Nita dropped her gear to quickly unlock the car and allow Joanne to get inside. Then a deafening crack of thunder shook the ground and the car windows.

"That's it, guys. Everyone into the car, now!"

As Nita ushered her friends into the car, she quickly grabbed their gear and shoved it all into the trunk of the car. Just as she slammed the lid to the trunk, another bolt of lightning flashed, and hit the ground several feet in front of the car, followed by an ear splitting peal of thunder that literally shook the car, causing it to rock gently.

Roy suddenly realized that someone was missing. As if he could read his partner's thoughts, Johnny looked back out the rear windshield. He saw Nita picking herself up off the ground some twenty feet away. Her hair was partially standing up, but otherwise, she appeared unhurt. Johnny was about to get out of the car to help her, but she waved him back and staggered her way to the driver's side and hopped into the seat. It was at that exact moment the flood gates were opened, as torrents of rain fell from the sky.

Nita sat quietly for a few moments with her hands on the steering wheel and her head resting on her hands. Johnny reached over and brushed the hair out of her face and immediately fell into paramedic mode. He and Roy noted a bruise on her right temple, and some blood trickling down her hair line. Nita promptly raised her hand to say 'stop!', and then she spoke.

"Look, I'm ok, but Roy, I think you should drive us out of here. I'll pull over here underneath that shelter so we can change places."

"Agreed," came the reply.

Nita slowly drove the car under a nearby picnic shelter. Johnny hopped out and came around to help her out of the car. She swayed slightly, but then felt a strong arm slide around her waist to steady her. This arm then guided her to the picnic table and helped her lay down.

"Stop fussing over me," she griped. "I'm ok. Just let me wash my face and I'll be good to go."

It was good that she was complaining, but the glazed look in her eyes spoke volumes to the two men. Joanne came over with a cold wet towel, drenched in the cold rain of the cloud burst. She wrung it out slightly and quickly washed Nita's face. Johnny pulled her hair back and secured it while Roy took the girl's blood pressure and pulse.

"Everything's normal," he announced. "Let's take a look at those eyes."

Nita opened her eyes after she was finished cleaning up. The glaze that previously dulled her vision was now gone, and her eyes shone bright and clear, and most importantly, equal and reactive.

"Nita, you're recovery system is incredible. You're vitals are perfectly normal," Roy said to her, as well as the group. Johnny breathed a sigh of relief and squeezed Nita's hand firmly. Roy then asked, "Do you remember what happened to you?"

She nodded and replied, "I tried to tell you guys I was ok. When that lightning hit in front of the car, I still had my hand on the trunk lid after I had shut it. It blew me back about twenty feet or so. I landed over there near the creek and I hit my head on the ground slightly. It felt more like a scrape. Anyway, it took me a second to figure out what happened. Man, it was close. I've never been that close to a bolt of lightning. I felt my hair standing up. Unbelievable!"

Johnny wrapped his arms around her protectively as he expressed his obvious relief. "You ain't kidding it was close. I just knew we were gonna pick you up with your hair smoking."

Joanne finally cut in. "Look, she's ok. Don't think about the worst. Um, Nita, how long do you think this storm will last?"

"Well, I think it's about over now. Take a look." Already, the sun was peeking out between the puffy dark clouds.

"Roy, do you mind driving us out of here?"

"Of course not, Nita. Just tell me which way to go."

Johnny helped Nita into the back seat of her car.

She sighed and remarked, "I guess this is one time I won't complain about not driving. I'm beat."

Then she gave Roy the explicit directions to get them all back to her house, and once that was accomplished, she settled back into the seat, right into Johnny's waiting arms. He checked her vitals one last time, and nodded to his partner.

Johnny then told Nita his findings. "Well, your pulse is still slightly elevated, and your blood pressure is 130 over 90. Do you know what your normal BP is?"

Nita replied, "My normal BP runs low, around 110 over 60 or lower. I also run a low body temperature of 96 degrees. I know, it's weird. But, Dr. Carter says it's normal for me, so I just don't worry about it. The only real problem is when I get a fever. For most everyone else, 99 degrees isn't a problem, but for me, I'm sick! As for the low blood pressure, well, it does make it a bit difficult to start an IV, but I've found that when I lift something heavy with the arm they want to use, it helps to build the pressure up slightly, enough to make the stick easier."

Roy noticed that Nita's eyelids were starting to droop. _Man, she looks really tired._

"Are you sure you feel ok?" He asked as he started to pull the car out from under the shelter.

"Yea, I think so, but I'm pretty tired. I guess that little scare sapped my energy reserves pretty good. If I still feel bad by the time we get back home, I'll call the doc. Ok?"

All three passengers agreed.

Then Nita added, "Roy, I really do appreciate you being willing to drive us back home. I suppose I could do it, but why take chances when I don't have to?"

Roy laughed and nodded. "Right. Listen, go ahead and try to take a nap. If I get lost, or confused, I'll wake you and ask."

Nita yawned and snuggled closer to Johnny, who had put his arm back around her. She mumbled out an "ok," and quickly fell asleep, her head ending up Johnny's lap, and the rest of her stretched out on the seat.

The drive back took the gang about an hour and forty five minutes. Joanne had fallen asleep in her seat as well. With both women asleep, Roy and Johnny decided that now was a good time to talk.

"Well now, Junior, you and Nita sure are getting serious there. I mean, you've only known her for three days, and haven't I seen yo two kissing?"

Johnny smiled as he nodded hi head. "Yea," he breathed, "you sure have. She's so beautiful, Roy. She understands me. We have so many things in common."

Roy listened to his partner carry on and on about the woman lying asleep in his lap, occasionally nodding and smiling at the man via the rearview mirror. He had been through this before with the other women that Johnny had dated, but even he knew that this was totally different. He could feel the attraction between them, and knew that is was very powerful. He knew that his partner had finally found his soulmate, his one true love. He chuckled out loud upon that last thought, which his partner heard and quickly stopped talking, suddenly looking sheepish.

"Um, Roy? You laughing at me?" Johnny asked timidly.

"Of course not, Junior. It's just, well, I um, well, I'm just happy that you're happy. I can tell that she feels the same way about you. It's so hard to find that one person, your soul mate. I'm just so glad that you finally found her,"

Johnny sighed contentedly, and simply replied, "Thanks, Pally. I really mean it. Thanks for understanding."

Roy smiled. "You're welcome Junior."

Nita had woken up to hear most of the conversation, but decided to stay quiet, so that the two best friends could talk. She didn't want to eavesdrop, but she was a bit curious as to how Johnny really felt about her. And now she knew. She smiled softly to herself.

Johnny leaned down to kiss her cheek and heard her softly say, "Thank you Johnny Gage, for coming into my life." She raised her voice slightly and said to Roy, "You're right, Roy. I do feel the same way about your partner."

Roy blushed slightly as he realized that Nita had heard part of their chat. Then Nita yawned and sat up slowly. She was tired but fortunately, there were no after effects from that visit from the heavens. She looked around to see where they were and exclaimed, "Man, I must have slept the whole trip."

Johnny laughed as he remarked, "Yep, you did. Roy got us here with no problems. You can give some really accurate directions, right down to the smallest details."

She smiled at him and gave him a quick kiss just as Roy pulled off the main road leading to her house. Roy reached over and nudged his wife and said, "Wake up, honey, we're back."

She yawned and sat up straight. "You know what, I'm starving. What's on the menu for dinner tonight?" she asked.

Nita thought for a moment and replied, "Well, I laid out some chicken yesterday, so I can make some fried chicken, gravy, mashed potatoes, fresh green peas and corn on the cob, and some homemade buttermilk biscuits. How does that sound?"

"Great!" they all shouted at once. Finally Roy stopped the car and they all climbed out and stretched their limbs. Joanne seemed to be the only one who was truly stiff and exhausted, and Roy helped his wife into the house and sat her down on a chair in the kitchen. Nita noticed her stiff movements and proceeded to offer some help.

"Roy your bathroom has a shower head that will change from a regular shower to a hard invigorating one. It's great for relieving sore muscles, and for relaxing tight ones. While I'm fixing supper, why don't you take Joanne in there and let her take a long shower? Supper will take about an hour to make and..."

Joanne interrupted. "You don't have to tell me twice. Honey, are you coming?" she cooed to her husband while hobbling along to the bedroom. Roy blushed deeply, but grinned at his partner. "Not yet," he called out, "but I will be." He ran the rest of the way to the bedroom and Nita heard the bedroom door close firmly, followed by the bathroom door being slammed shut. Johnny grinned at Nita for a moment, before they both burst out giggling.

Then Johnny asked, "Can I help you make dinner, Nita?"

"Of course you can. How about peeling about eight of those potatoes over there in the bin, and I'll get the chicken washed and marinated. The peas are in the deep freeze and I picked some corn the other morning before I went to work. It's already shucked and cleaned. All I need to do from scratch is make the biscuits."

"Fantastic," said an enthusiastic Johnny. "I'll be happy to help you. But first, come here!"

Johnny pulled her close to him and gave Nita a long passionate kiss that left them both breathless.

"Wow Johnny, um, what was it I was doing? Oh yea..." She quickly turned the tables and pulled him into a fierce embrace.

"All right, I give. I surrender to you, my love," Johnny panned, and then bowed at her feet.

Nita giggled and sputtered, "Get up silly. We'll finish this after dinner. We'd better get started if we want to eat some time tonight. If ya'll are as hungry as I am..."

They got busy and in twenty minutes, the chicken was in the pan frying, the biscuits were made and in the oven, and the potatoes were peeled, cut up and in a pot of water, boiling away. Nita then put the corn in a huge pot of salted water to cook for a few minutes, and she had also taken the green peas and placed them in a pot with a chunk of butter and some mushrooms. She also made a couple of gallon of sweeten tea, and placed them both in the freezer, which earned her a puzzled look from Johnny.

"You see, if I leave it in the freezer until dinner time, it will have a chance to get cold, so it won't melt the ice so much."

"Oh, I see. That's pretty smart there. I'll have to remember that. Um, how much longer do you think before everything will be ready?"

It was at that moment that Roy and Joanne came back into the kitchen, both of them moving quite well, and both with a slight blush to their cheeks. Roy then said, "Man, that sure smells good. Is it ready yet?"

Nita smiled at her guests and gave them the good news. "It's almost ready. If you guys would like to set the table for me, I'd be most thankful. The plates are here in this cupboard, and the silverware is in this drawer. The glasses for the tea are over there in that cupboard, and there should be plenty of ice in the freezer to fill them. Oh, the tea is in the deep freeze. You can bring both jugs back up and put them in the fridge for me. Oh, and don't forget to put the butter on the table. We'll need it for those biscuits!"

The house guests quickly had the table set and after a few more minutes, Nita started bringing the food to the table. She had a huge platter of southern fried chicken, a bowl of gravy, a bowl of mashed potatoes, a bowl of green peas and mushrooms with a butter sauce, a platter of corn on the cob, and another platter of buttermilk biscuits, fresh from the oven. She noticed that someone had poured the tea and so she settled down at the table with her friends. They all joined hands and Nita said a prayer.

"Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for this wonderful day. Thank you for protecting us from the storm this afternoon. Thank you for seeing us to and from the mountains safely, so that we could join together at this table to eat this supper. Bless this food so that it will nourish our bodies, and give us energy. Please be with all us as we continue our plans to bring the paramedic program here to this town. All this we ask in your holy name, Amen."

A chorus of amens later, and the group dug into the huge dinner. It was a night to remember for all of them. Not a scrap of food was left, and once the dinner dishes were done, they all settled into the living room to start the digestion process. The adults talked into the late evening, and then they all decided to turn in for the night. Nita and Johnny walked around and locked all the door. Just as she was about to say goodnight, Johnny whisked her off her feet and proceeded to carry her down the hall to her bedroom. He whispered in her ear, "Now, we pick up where we left off..."

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_Hello everyone! I really do appreciate all of you who have been reviewing! It means so much to me to find out that you like the story. This chapter was a bit longer than normal. The next chapter should be posted in about 2 weeks. It's going to be something special, trust me. _

_Take care everyone, and Oh, yes, a special thanks goes out to Erin, who has been helping me with this fic._

_Nita_


	7. Love, Love, Love

Chapter 7: Love, Love, Love

AN: This chapter will contain a tasteful account of lovemaking between a man and a woman. It will not be smut or porn. However, it will be somewhat explicit, so, if you're not over the age of 18, please find another story to read, or just skip this chapter. Thanks.

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Johnny carried Nita down the hall into her bedroom. He paused just long enough to shut the door with a persuasive push from his hip. Then he quietly laid the object of his desire gently on the bed. Not once did they take their eyes off of each other.

Nita was wearing a plain lace gown of pure white cotton. Her long red hair stood out sharply in contrast. Even her eyes seemed to be brighter and alluring, so green they seemed to glow.

_Wow, _Johnny thought. _I'm doing this to her. _He quickly found her mouth with his and kissed her, softly at first, but when she arched her head back to offer him her neck, he couldn't resist. His passion reared up so forcefully, they both were taken by surprise. She moaned against his chest, _his smooth, hairless, muscular chest, _and he answered with a plea of his own.

"I want to make love to you, Nita. I know this is kind of sudden..."

He never got to finish the sentence, because she put her hand over his mouth lightly, and then sat up. She looked at him, smiling for only a moment, as she heard her voice whisper softly, "Yes, Johnny, make love to me."

He smiled his trademark grin at her that she had come to realize could convince her to do anything he wanted. Right now, she was powerless to stop, even if she had wanted to.

Johnny pulled her close to him and began kissing her lips and throat. As she responded to him, he began untying her lace gown. She couldn't believe this most gorgeous man was going to make love to her.

Finally he lifted the gown from her body, revealing his prize. He gasped when he saw her and then giggled softly when she blushed a deep red.

"You are so beautiful," he whispered as he ran his hands through her hair. She smiled and whispered back, "So are you, Johnny."

Nita quickly rolled over and sat up on the bed. She tugged off Johnny's tee shirt, and tossed it over in a chair. Then she helped him slide off his shorts underwear. His manhood stood proudly before her as she gazed upon his muscular, dark-skinned body.

She leapt into his waiting arms with enough force to knock them both back onto the bed. She started kissing his face and neck, and then she kissed his heaving chest. She lightly nipped at his nipples, making him quiver with pleasure.

It was then that she surprised herself when she kissed Johnny's abdomen, and then continued to pleasure the man. He groaned in ecstasy as she administered to his needs, and before long, his release was upon him. Nita sat back and smiled shyly at him, while he was looking up at her with total contentment shining in his eyes. _Those beautiful, brown eyes..._

"Come here, you," he purred as he pounced on top of her. She groaned loudly as Johnny laid down upon her. It had been so long since her last time, and she was so excited about this time, she couldn't control herself.

Johnny took things slowly, wanting to make sure that he didn't hurt the woman underneath him, but found it harder and harder to control himself as she moaned and growled in pleasure.

Several long minutes later, both of them were experiencing their release, both covered in the sweat of their lovemaking. They lay together for several minutes, reveling in the emotions and sensations they were both experiencing. Then, she rolled over on top of him, and they again became as one, thrusting, pushing, receiving, kissing, groaning.

Finally, after several more long minutes, they both succumbed to their passion. A wild, musky scent filled the air, and once the couple had completely exhausted themselves, they collapsed into each other's arms, ready to relax and allow sleep to take over.

Nita had collapsed onto Johnny's chest, and was laying so still and quiet, it alarmed the man. He took her wrist and felt for a pulse, then quickly rolled her over onto her back. He shook her gently, wondering what had happened. Nita groaned softly and, with an evil twinkle in her eyes, she whispered, "Are you ready for another round?"

Johnny, realizing that he had been had, quickly recovered and rolled over on top of her, effectively pinning her to the bed, and then began kissing her. She began giggling wildly and finally cried out, "Ok, you win! I give, no more!"

He sat up and rolled off of her, and laid down beside of her. She snuggled up next to him and pulled up the sheet to cover them. It was dark and since they're hot and heavy lovemaking had left them covered in sweat earlier, the air conditioning was making the room a little chilly.

Johnny sighed deeply as he held Nita in his arms. She propped up on his chest and asked, "You ok?"

"Never better, That was the most incredible experience. I've never felt so much pleasure...nor have I ever been so relaxed."

She chuckled. "My whole body is so drained. I could sleep for days..." She couldn't even finish the sentence. She and Johnny fell asleep in each other's arms.

Sometime in the night, Nita's cat, Princess, hopped up on the bed with her master, quite miffed that there was a stranger in her bed. After finally settling in at the foot of the bed, she fell asleep, half of her long cat body on one of Nita's legs, and the rest on one of Johnny's.

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Sometime around 7:30 in the morning, Nita awoke to the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. Her sleepy mind couldn't figure out how this was happening because her mom was in Florida. Then she felt an arm wrap around her waist, and a manly voice whispered in her ear.

"Good morning, gorgeous. You awake?"

"Yes, I am. And good morning to you, handsome. I wonder who made coffee?"

"Oh, that's probably Roy. We usually get up pretty early, so he probably was up and went ahead and made the coffee. However..." Johnny then gently turned Nita over to face him. "For some reason, I just couldn't wake up that early this morning."

Nita stared at the face of the man lying next to her, and leaned in to kiss his lips. Johnny wrapped his arms around her and returned her kiss. It was at that moment Princess decided to pounce right between them, meowing loudly to make her objections known. Johnny laughed an scratched the cat's head and ears. This was exactly what she wanted, and she promptly plopped down between the two humans, purring and wiggling, with Johnny and Nita rubbing her tummy.

"I just love cats," Johnny remarked. Princess replied with a half meow, purr, and gave him a lick on his cheek and nose, and after letting Nita pet her head, she jumped off the bed and sauntered out the cat door. Nita sat up and grabbed her gown and housecoat, and turned around and gave Johnny another quick kiss.

"Let's get up. I need to fix us all breakfast, and then go do some chores around the house and garden. Don't worry, it won't take too long. Afterwards, we can go swimming in the creek. We can have a nice quiet cookout for just us this evening. It's rare I get to do that here, but now would be the perfect time. What do you thing?"

Johnny nodded his head in the affirmative, and was about to stand up to get dressed when they heard a light knock on the door. A timid voice called out, "Johnny, you in there? Are you up?"

Johnny glanced around and saw that Nita was in her housecoat, and quickly slid his shorts and pants on. He then called out to his partner, "Yes, Roy, we're up."

Nita laughed softly to herself as she walked over to the door and opened it. Roy was standing there with a cup of coffee.

"Good morning, Roy," she greeted with a smile, and then noticed that non-verbal thing again between the partners.

_Man, I've got to figure out how they do that..._

They walked down the hall into the kitchen to find Joanne sitting at the table drinking a cup of coffee. Nita greeted her and quickly got a country breakfast ready of grits, toast, eggs, bacon, and gravy. After drinking down a second pot of coffee, Nita excused herself so she could go to the garden and see what needed to be harvested, and to make sure everything was as it should be around the barn.

She grabbed a basket and started down the steps of the back porch, and was quickly joined by her guests. She looked at them with a grateful smile, and showed them where additional baskets were, and they all walked into the garden and began harvesting the vegetables. Joanne and Roy picked tomatoes, green peas, and squash. Johnny and Nita picked cucumbers, green beans, corn, and while Nita cut some okra, Johnny checked out the watermelons, hoping to find a nice big ripe one.

It took the four of them about two hours to complete the gardening, and they soon were back on the porch, washing, cleaning, and prepping the veggies they had just picked. Nita made a mental note of what she wanted to serve that evening for the cookout and then placed the rest in the fridge for later. Johnny then came running up the steps, carrying a huge watermelon in his arms.

"Whoa, that's a big one! Where did you find it? I didn't know I had one even near that size out there," Nita exclaimed.

"Well, it was at the very edge of the garden, sort of out in the leaves of the woods over there, so I guess you must have missed it. I almost missed it, too, but then I noticed something really big, and went and checked it out. Here is what I found!"

Johnny seemed extremely pleased that he had found the biggest watermelon in the patch.

"Thanks, Johnny. That will be perfect for this evening. We can have it after dinner tonight! Then, afterwards, we can all go swimming in the creek. The water is warm, and I've been working hard to clear out the rocks and other possible hazards on the bottom."

Roy and Johnny looked at each other and knew right away that they would thoroughly enjoy being able to swim in a nice warm creek without having to worry about having to save someone. A few years ago, they had had to jump into the ocean to get a guy out of his car, after he had driven it off the pier in LA. Neither of the men had enjoyed that rescue, mainly because the water had been so cold, and it was salt water, which burned their eyes. They were really looking forward to swimming in the creek.

As it was already noon time, and all the veggies had been washed and put away, Nita went and laid out some steaks for dinner from the freezer, and made sure she had enough tea and sodas for later on. Then she and Johnny took off to the barn to check on her wild assortment of cats and other stray animals that liked to sleep there.

She quietly opened the door to the barn and walked in, hoping not to scare any of the older cats, and perhaps be able to actually pet that red fox that kept coming by lately. She quietly took the bag of cat food down and went and filled the long pan she had placed on the floor for the animals, and then turned on the water to fill the several water bowls she had scattered around. She then called the cats to her, and soon, she was surrounded by cats and kittens of all ages. She reached down and petted some of the older cats, and then sat down and gathered several kittens into her arms to snuggle. Johnny had been standing back watching her do this, and when he saw her suddenly surrounded by so many meowing cats, he became slightly fearful.

However, his fear melted when he saw her sit down on the floor in the middle of the animals and pick up an armful of kittens. He continued to watch as she examined each of them, making sure that they were healthy, and loved. She made sure to pet each kitten she could get her hands on, and she made sure to pet every adult cat that would come close enough.

Once she was satisfied that the cats were ok, she turned to go, when she saw a flash of red out of the corner of her eye. It was a small red fox. She turned slowly and sat back down, holding out her hand filled with cat food. The little fox seemed skittish at first, but upon listening to her coax it on, it finally came forward, almost within finger's reach. Nita kept inching her hand backward, hoping the fox would get close enough to allow her to touch it. Finally, it was in her lap, happily eating the handful of food she had laid out for it. She slowly began stroking its fur, very softly as first, so that it could get used to the contact. After a few more moments, the baby fox looked up at its benefactor, and yipped in appreciation. It licked her hand a couple of times, and laid down in Nita's lap, which surprised her immensely.

Johnny had been inching forward all this time, hoping to catch a glimpse of the baby fox, and got along side Nita just in time to see the baby lick her fingers and lay down in the woman's lap. He laughed softly to himself. He was stunned to see how she had been able to get a wild animal to come up to her like that. He couldn't wait to go tell Roy about it.

Nita then put her hands underneath the baby fox and took a look at it to see if it was a boy or girl, and it turned out to be a little boy fox. She knew she couldn't keep him as a pet, but hoped she could keep him from harm until he grew up enough to take care of himself. Nita carefully put the baby in a box over in the corner of the barn, and set a dish of food and water in with him, and then, together with Johnny, they left the barn to go clean up for the cookout they had planned for the afternoon.

Johnny was still slightly stunned about the fox, but decided to wait to talk about it until he could talk to his partner. It appeared that his girlfriend had a unique gift when it came to animals. He reached down and took Nita's hand in his as they finished walking up to the house.

Once inside, both of them went straight to their bathrooms to clean up. Once they were back in the living room, and Roy and Joanne had joined them, they sat down and planned out the rest of the day, starting with the cookout. They quickly decided not to invite the station, knowing it would just get noisy and rambunktious. Nita had had her crew mates over before, and knew just how rowdy they could get. Once they had the plans made, Nita turned on the tv to get a weather report, hoping the rain would hold off another day so that they could enjoy the afternoon and evening.

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_Hi everyone. Sorry for the delay. I had to make sure this chapter was compliant with so it wouldn't get deleted. I hope it was worth the wait._

_I'll do my best to make the next chapter happen sooner!_

_Thanks so much to Erin, who has been checking my chapters for mistakes. Even so, if anyone notices something that she or I missed, please email me privately and let me know where it is, and I'll go fix it! With all the eyes reading this story, hopefully we can find every typo that Erin and I missed! _

_A very special thanks to everyone reading, and add lots of hugs to those have taken the time to review! I really do appreciate those reviews. If I haven't answered your review personally yet, I will. Don't give up yet!!!_

_Take care everyone, and keep reading and reviewing. Next chapter will be here soon! Oh, I will also be updating my Harry Potter story very soon as well, so for those of you who have been following that one, stay tuned!_

_Love and hugs...Nita_


	8. Swimming, Fun, and Fire!

Chapter 8

Swimming, Fun, and Fire!

Nita and Joanne decided to go for a quick swim during the day to work on their tans a bit. It wasn't long before the guys decided to join them, and once all four of them were in the water, all bets were off. Nita was a great swimmer, and an amused Roy couldn't stop laughing at how she would swim underwater and grab Johnny around the waist and pull him under. He would surface quickly, sputtering objections, only to be met with a grinning Nita. They would kiss sweetly and then it would begin again. Joanne finally got up her nerve and did the same to Roy, and then it was Johnny's turn to laugh sportingly at his partner. After about an hour in the hot sun, they all agreed it was time to take a break and get out of the burning rays of the sun. Joanne's skin was already pink, and Nita quickly stripped a couple leaves off of her aloe vera plant. She gave them to Roy, and explained how to take the gel inside the leaves and rub it into his wife's skin. This would help prevent her skin from drying out, plus relieve any discomfort if she had indeed sunburned.

Johnny couldn't believe how much natural medicine his new friend knew about. He had noticed the plants and flowers growing around her house, and had made a mental list of how many were also noted for being natural remedies. This was something he knew he'd want to talk to her about a bit later on.

The gang made their way back into the house and they all went to their rooms to dry off and change clothes. One by one they all congregated back into the living room of the house, until all were present. Nita then stepped out to the area she had built for cooking outside, and poured charcoal into the grill pan, lit it, and then stepped back inside the house.

"Well, I've got the fire started for our cook out, and everything is pretty much ready. We've got plenty of tea, and there's some soda in the fridge, and the beer you bought last night is in there too. Please help yourself to whatever you want. Joanne, there's some homemade wine in the fridge too, as well as some liquor for a mixed drink if that's what you prefer. Honestly, I just tend to stay away from all of it. I used to love to drink vodka and 7-up all the time, or with orange juice, but, I guess I just had to see what the consequences were from the drunk drivers and it turned me off of drinking. I still have some every once and a while, but not very often. But, don't let that deter any of you from drinking what you want. We are off from work, and there's really no reason why we shouldn't relax some!"

Johnny chuckled and grabbed a beer for himself and Roy. Nita then poured Joanne and herself a glass of homemade blackberry wine, which she gave to her friend. Joanne took a tentative sip and then gasped. Nita looked at her for a moment, and grinned when she saw the woman smile and turn up her glass to drain it and hold it out for a refill.

Nita quickly refilled the glass, but felt compelled to say, "Drink what you want, hon, but don't let the sweet taste fool you. This stuff has a kick to it, and it will sneak up on you. Drink it slowly, and if you need to, add some juice to it to water it down. I add 7-up to mine. It waters down the alcohol a bit, but not the taste. I'm sure you don't want to get drunk."

Nita laughed with the rest of the gang and then walked back out to check on the grill. The charcoal was burning nicely and would soon be ready for the steaks. She walked back inside and grabbed everything she wanted to grill and placed it all in a basket. Then she put on a wide brimmed hat to keep the sun out of her eyes and once they all were ready, they all walked outside to the grill and helped get the food prepared. There was a covered table next to the grill area with several chairs, a huge table, water hose (for just in case), and a big trash can.

She placed the steaks on the bottom part of the grill first, to get some grill marks, and then placed some tin foil wrapped corn on the cob on the top rack, as well as some summer squash, zucchini, and some halved tomatoes. A sprinkle of sea salt and she shut the lid to the grill for a few minutes. Johnny had finally made his way over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, squeezing just enough to let her know that he was there, and she leaned into his chest for a bit of support. She honestly had been enjoying her time off with her new friends, and to be even more honest, she didn't want them to leave. She had even thought about maybe moving to LA with them, but it seemed like such a long way from home to her at the moment.

Giving Johnny a quick kiss, she turned around and lifted the lid on the grill. The steaks were turned, each having perfect grill marks, and she also turned her veggies, then cursed out loud.

"Damn, I forgot those potatoes. Is it ok if I make up a batch of instant potatoes for dinner? I forgot to put the real ones on the grill."

Roy laughed as Joanne nodded her approval. She hadn't taken Nita's advice about the blackberry wine and was already three sheets to the wind. Roy quietly took her glass and filled it with 7-Up and added a splash of the wine for color, hoping that would start to sober up his unusually drunk wife. He quietly whispered to Nita, "You wouldn't happen to have another bottle of that wine I can take back home with me, do ya?"

Nita grinned and nodded her head. "Absolutely. If I tried to drink all of that myself...hahahaha....I hate to think what might happen!!"

Nita noticed that Joanne had quieted down, and knew she would crash if she didn't eat something soon. She checked and the food seemed to be done to her liking, so she called them all to the kitchen table, seeing as how it was so hot outside.

She served up her friend's plates, and they all joined hands, this having become a daily ritual for them. Then Nita began to pray:

"Dear Heavenly Father,

Please bless this food we are about to eat, and let it nourish our bodies so we can be strong enough to fight when we need to. Please bless my new friends and thank you for bringing them into my life. Oh, and please, if it be your will, let us win the fight to bring a paramedic program to this city and county at the big meeting tomorrow. In your son's name we pray, Amen."

A chorus of amens were hear all around the table, with Johnny squeezing Nita's hand firmly.

"Try not to worry about it. You've done all you could humanly do. If it's meant to be, it will happen."

"I know, Johnny, but..."

Johnny shut her up by giving her a huge kiss that made her forget what she was thinking. Then she noticed that everyone else was eating and she sheepishly picked up her fork and knife and did the same.

Joanne was feeling decidedly much better after she had finished off a piece of bread and half of her steak.

"I'm so sorry, Nita. I should have listened to you. That wine really knocked me for a loop!"

"It's ok, Joanne. Don't worry, at least you don't have to drive tonight. Besides, you're supposed to be relaxing and enjoying yourself. Now, how's everyone's steak? Is everything ok? Veggies ok?"

A loud chorus of "oh yes" brought out a huge smile on their hostess's face, and she quickly got up and brought them all a tall glass of sweetened iced tea.

"Oh, yes, I almost forgot, I have homemade strawberry shortcake in the fridge. I heard that you were allergic to chocolate, Johnny, so I scraped the chocolate mousse and came up with the shortcake. I hope you all enjoy it. I made the cakes, picked the strawberry's from the bushes outside, and bought the Cool Whip. Hahaha, I really don't like the taste of real cream, so I always get the non-dairy type. But I have both for whoever wants some."

E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!

After dinner was over, the dishes washed and put away, the grill was dumped and the coals completely extinguished, Joanne finally admitted she had gotten a bit sunburned. Nita quickly ran out and grabbed several more aloe vera leaves and placed them in the fridge, and took the ones she had in there out and gave them to Roy.

"Have her lay down on her tummy, and split the skin like I showed you earlier. Squeeze out as much of the gel as you can and massage it gently into her back. It won't help with the pain a lot, but the coldness of the gel will. I think I have some topical pain reliever around here, too. I'll be right back." Nita quickly took off out the front door to her squad, which the department guys had brought over earlier that week so she could clean it up and refill her supplies. She found what she was looking for and shut and locked up the squad, failing to notice a strange glow aways off in the distance. She quickly found her way to Roy and Joanne's room and found her almost falling asleep, due to her husband's hands and the cooling affect of the chilled aloe.

She whispered quietly, "I hope this doesn't wake her up. It's going to feel icy cold at first, but it will stop any pain she's feeling. And no, it's not hospital issue. You can get this at any drug store around these parts that sells it."

She quickly sprayed Joanne's back, shoulders, and the back of her arms with the spray, which quickly brought her to full consciousness.

"Whoa, that's cold! I think I need a bit for my face, too, please?"

Nita had her close her eyes and she quickly gave her a spray to her very red face. She told Roy to rub it in slowly and then left the bottle on the nightstand, telling him he could use it as needed, and wished them both a goodnight.

Nita stepped out onto the front porch, staring off into the distance, and then felt the arms of her new lover wrap around her waist. She turned quickly and they kissed deeply for a few moments before Johnny picked her up and swung her around. That was when she noticed the orange glow in the distance, the tell-tell signs of a fire.


End file.
